Postpartum psychosis is a mental health emergency, affecting a person’s sense of reality, causing hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, etc.
Who does it affect:
Affects anyone who gave birth recently
Usually happens within several days to six weeks of giving birth
Those who have certain mental health conditions prior are at higher odds
Statistics:
This affects between 0.089 and 2.6 out of 1,000 births
In the US, it is between 320 to 9,400 births per year
Globally, it happens between 12 million to 352.3 million births per year
Symptoms:
Two main symptoms that affect a person’s sense of reality:
Hallucinations: Brain acts as if it’s getting input from senses such as eyes and ears, without any input.
Delusions: False beliefs that you hold onto very strongly, no matter if there is evidence against
Other symptoms:
Mood changes such as mania (increase in activity and mood) and hypomania/depression (decrease in mood)
Depersonalization (an out of body experience)
Disorganized thinking or behavior
Insomnia and lack of sleep
Irritability or agitation
Thoughts of self harm or harming others
Three types of PPP:
Depressive
Manic
Atypical/mixed
Depressive Symptoms:
Most common, making up 41% of cases
Most dangerous
Research shows that depressive symptoms and psychosis almost always have cases that involve self-harm or harm to child
The rate of self harm to a child is 4.5% in this subtype, which is about 4 or 5 times greater than with any other subtypes
The rate of dying by suicide is 5%
Symptoms:
Anxiety or panic
Delusions and hallucinations
Depression
Feelings of guilt
Loss of appetite
Anhedonia (loss of enjoyment to things usually enjoy)
Thoughts of self harm, suicide, or harming their child
Manic symptoms:
Second most common, affecting 34% of cases
Risk of self harm or harm to child is lower, but possible with 1% of cases
Symptoms:
Agitation or irritability
Disruptive or aggressive behavior
Talking more or faster than usual
Needing less sleep
Delusions of greatness or importance (ex: believing child is to be holy or religious figure)
Atypical/mixed symptoms:
Makes about 25% of cases
Can mix the symptoms of manic and depressive subtypes
Also involve symptoms where a person seems much less aware (or vice versa) of the world around them
Symptoms:
Disorganized speaking or behavior
Disorientation or confusion
Disturbance of consciousness (person doesn't appear to be awake or isn’t aware of activities taking place nearby)
Hallucinations or delusions
Inappropriate comments, behaviors, or emotional displays
Catatonia or mutism- being completely silent
Causes of PPP:
Number of pregnancies: PPP is more common for people who gave birth to their first child
There is a 30-50% chance it will happen again for future childbirths
Family history of mental health conditions (such as PPP): People with PPP often have family members who have had PPP or history of mental health conditions
Sleep deprivation: Not getting enough sleep can trigger mania in people with bipolar disorder, also suspecting that is a reason to developing PPP
History of mental health conditions: 1/3rd of people with PPP have previously had a diagnosed mental health condition
Most common is bipolar disorder
Others include major depressive disorder and schizophrenia spectrum conditions
Other medical conditions: Some examples are autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, electrolyte imbalances, vitamin deficiencies, thyroid disorders, stroke, etc
Treatment and Cure:
PPP is treatable
Due to the rarity, there is limited research on how to treat it
PPP is a mental health emergency, people need inpatient mental healthcare
Hospitalization
Medications:
Antipsychotic medications
Mood stabilizers
Antiseizure drugs
Lithium
Outlook:
PPP is a temporary condition
With treatment people have been able to recover within a few weeks
Without treatment, PPP can last for weeks or months, can get more severe and dangerous if left untreated
PPP can develop into bipolar disorder, which is a better understood condition that has multiple methods and approaches for treatment