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Psychiatric Consultation to the Postpartum Mother

  • Women's Mental Health (D Rubinow, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

The immediate postpartum period is a time of acute vulnerability to mental illness, which presents unique challenges for the psychiatric consultant. Because the postpartum hospital stay is typically brief, the consultant must have a working knowledge of postpartum physiology and the myriad forms of mental illness that may emerge in this vulnerable time, in order to quickly make a diagnosis and formulate a treatment plan. This review aims to characterize the most common reasons for postpartum consultation, review postpartum physiology and psychiatric conditions, and propose an evidence-based, practical approach to treatment. A literature search using the terms “postpartum,” “obstetric,” “consultation,” and “psychiatry” yielded six studies that identified reasons for psychiatric consultation to the obstetrics and gynecology services. These studies informed the structure of the article such that we review the most common reasons for consultation and how to approach each issue. The most common reason for consultation is past psychiatric history, often in the absence of current symptoms. For each clinical situation, including depression, adverse birth events, and psychosis, we present a differential diagnosis, as well as risk factors, clinical signs, and recommended treatment.

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Acknowledgments

This manuscript was supported by NIMH grant K23 MH092399 (P.I. DRK).

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Neither Dr. Anderson nor Dr. Kim have any conflicts of interest to disclose.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Patient and Family Services, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Civic Center Boulevard, 1st Floor South Pavilion, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Eleanor A. Anderson

  2. Penn Center for Women’s Behavioral Wellness, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3535 Market St, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Deborah R. Kim

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  1. Eleanor A. Anderson
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Correspondence to Eleanor A. Anderson.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Women's Mental Health

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Anderson, E.A., Kim, D.R. Psychiatric Consultation to the Postpartum Mother. Curr Psychiatry Rep 17, 26 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-015-0561-5

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