This document discusses three postpartum psychiatric disorders: postpartum blues, postpartum depression, and postpartum psychosis. Postpartum blues occurs within the first few weeks after delivery and involves mood lability and irritability but does not impair function. Postpartum depression occurs within the first three months and includes depressed mood and feelings of worthlessness that do impair function. Postpartum psychosis has an onset within 72 hours of delivery and is characterized by rapidly shifting mood, delusions, and hallucinations that can instruct harm, severely impairing function. Risk factors include hormonal changes, life stressors, previous psychiatric episodes, depression during pregnancy, and history of mood disorders.

1. By: Ismah Haron
Ruzanna Rosslan
Noraini Tukiran
(Faculty of Medicine UiTM)
POSTPARTUM
PSYCHIATRIC
DISORDERS
06/08/2014

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1. Postpartum blues
3. Postpartum
psychosis
2. Postpartum
depression

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Introduction
• Postpartum blues:
- Onset during the first few weeks after delivery.
- Characterized by mood lability, tearfulness, anxiety or irritability.
- Function not impaired.
*If symptoms of depression persist for longer than two weeks, the patient should be
evaluated to rule out a more serious disorder.

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• Postpartum depression
- Onset is over the first two to three postpartum months but may occur
at any point after delivery.
- The symptoms include depressed mood, anhedonia, feelings of guilt,
feelings of worthlessness or incompetence, fatigue, sleep disturbance,
change in appetite, poor concentration and suicidal thoughts.
- Function impaired.

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• Postpartum psychosis
- Onset of symptoms as early as the first 48 to 72 hours after delivery.
- The earliest signs are restlessness, irritability and insomnia in
addition to a rapidly shifting depressed or elevated mood,
disorientation or confusion and disorganized behaviour.
- Delusion are common and often about the infant.
- Auditory hallucinations that instruct the mother to harm herself or
her infant may also occur.
- Function impaired.

6. Triggering factors & Who is susceptible?
• Hormonal changes
• Life stressors: e.g. economy burden, family problems, relationship
problem, unprepared to handle new responsibility.
• Previous episode of postpartum psychiatric disorders
• Depression during pregnancy
• History of depression or bipolar disorder
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REFERENCES
1. Neel Burton. Psychiatry 2nd Edition.
2. Royal College of Psychiatrists,
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk
3. The Massachusetts General Hospital Centre
for Women’s Mental Health,
http://www.womensmentalhealth.org/
4. Mental Health America,
http://www.nmha.org/