Review Postnatal affective disorders. Part 1: an introduction

Key content: Emotional and behavioural changes affect 50- 80% of new mothers between days 3 and 5 of the postnatal period. Ten percent of all recently- delivered women develop a depressive illness. The incidence of puerperal psychosis is 2 per 1000 births. Women with puerperal psychosis face a 50% risk of serious mental illness at other times in their lives. Learning objectives: To learn about the emotional changes following childbirth. To be aware of the risk factors, clinical features and prognosis of postnatal affective disorders. To be able to prescribe the appropriate care for women with puerperal psychosis and postnatal depression. Ethical issues: Should all women be screened for postnatal mood disorders?