Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T04:23:12.101Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Follow-up Study of Severe Puerperal Psychiatric Illness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Lalitha Da Silva  and
Eve C. Johnstone
Lalitha Da Silva
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital, London SW17 and St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey, Surrey; Northwick Park Hospital and Clinical Research Centre, Watford Road, Harrow
Eve C. Johnstone
Affiliation:
Northwick Park Hospital and Clinical Research Centre, Watford Road, Harrow
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The outcome in clinical and social terms of a psychiatric illness arising within 1 year of confinement or termination of pregnancy and requiring on-going care was studied after a period of 1–6 years in 47 women. The outcome was related to the earlier features of the illness and to personal and historical features. Social impairment and continuing psychopathology occurred in many cases. The only factor which significantly related to poor outcome was an initial diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 139 , Issue 4 , October 1981 , pp. 346 - 354
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1981 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Brewer, C. (1978) Post-abortion psychosis. In Mental Illness in Pregnancy and the Puerperium (ed. Sandler, M.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Brockington, I. F., Schofield, E. M., Donnelly, P. & Hyde, C. (1978) A clinical study of post partum psychosis. In Mental Illness in Pregnancy and the Puerperium (ed. Sandler, M.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Brown, G. W., Bhrolchaín, M. Ní. & Harris, T. O. (1975) Social class and psychiatric disturbance among women in an urban population. Sociology, 9, 225–54.Google Scholar
Cooper, B. (1961) Social class and prognosis in schizophrenia: Part II. British Journal of Social and Preventive Medicine, 15, 31—41.Google Scholar
Goldberg, D. P., Kay, C. & Thompson, L. (1976) Psychiatric morbidity in general practice and the community. Psychological Medicine, 6, 565–9.Google Scholar
Goldberg, E. M. & Morrison, S. L. (1963) Schizophrenia and social class. British Journal of Psychiatry, 109, 785—802.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hawk, A. B., Carpenter, W. T. & Strauss, S. (1975) Diagnostic criteria and five-year outcome in schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 32, 343–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hemphill, R. E. (1952) Incidence and nature of puerperal psychiatric illness. British Medical Journal, 2, 1232–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnstone, E. C., Frith, C. D., Gold, A. & Stevens, M. (1979) The outcome of severe acute schizophrenic illnesses after one year. British Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 28—33.Google Scholar
Kendell, R. E., Brockington, I. F. & Leff, J. P. (1979) Prognostic implications of six alternative definitions of schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 36, 25—31.Google Scholar
Kraepelin, E. (1919) Dementia Praecox and Paraphrenia. Translated by Barclay, Mary and Robertson, G. M. Pp 181–185. Facsimile edition published by Krieger, New York (1971).Google Scholar
Kumar, R. & Robson, K. (1978) Neurotic disturbance during pregnancy and the puerperium: Preliminary report of a prospective survey of 119 primiparae. In Mental Illness in Pregnancy and the Puerperium (ed. Sandler, M.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Martin, M. E. (1958) Puerperal mental illness. A follow-up study of 75 cases. British Medical Journal, 2, 773–7.Google Scholar
Pare, C. M. B. & Raven, H. (1970) Follow-up of patients referred for termination of pregnancy. Lancet, i, 635–8.Google Scholar
Paykel, E. S., Emms, E. M., Fletcher, J. & Rassaby, E. S. (1980) Life events and social support in puerperal depression. British Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 339–46.Google Scholar
Protheroe, C. (1969) Puerperal psychoses: A long term study 1929—1961. British Journal of Psychiatry, 115, 9—30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richman, N. (1976) Depression in mothers of pre-school children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17, 75–8.Google Scholar
Sim, M. (1963) Abortion and the psychiatrist. British Medical Journal, ii, 145–8.Google Scholar
Strauss, J. S. & Carpenter, W. T. (1977) Prediction of outcome in schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 34, 159–63.Google Scholar
Wing, J. K., Cooper, J. E. & Sartorius, N. (1974) The Measurement and Classification of Psychiatric Symptoms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
World Health Organisation (1978) Mental disorders: glossary and guide to their classification in accordance with the ninth revision of the international classification of diseases. Geneva.Google Scholar
World Health Organisation (1979) Schizophrenia: An International Follow-up Study. Chichester: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.