Feb 10 2009
First-Time Mothers Most Likely to Develop Psychosis
Approximately 1 in every 1,000 mothers develop psychosis after giving birth. While it is a rare condition, it is important for researchers to understand the risk factors for developing psychosis in order to try to prevent harm to the mother or the baby during the period after birth. A new study shows the highest risk factor for developing psychosis after giving birth is being a first-time mother.
Psychosis is a condition where one cannot tell the difference between reality and his or her own imagination. Psychosis may also include the presence of hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that are not really there) and delusions (unrealistic beliefs). Mothers who experience psychosis are at risk of hurting themselves or their babies.
Unnur Valdimarsdottir at the Karolinska Intitutet in Sweden and colleagues examined the rate of psychosis in first-time mothers up to 90 days following childbirth. They also assessed possible risk factors for the psychosis. The study took place between 1983-2000 and involved nearly 750,000 first-time mothers.
Sweden possesses registers, which cover almost all births and inpatient hospital stays, making this research possible.
The researchers discovered 892 first-time mothers were admitted to the hospital for a psychotic episode in the 90 days following childbirth. They found that the first month following childbirth was the period in which psychosis was most likely to occur while at 90 days after childbirth, the risk of psychosis was a tenth of what it was in the first month.
Furthermore, researchers discovered older mothers were more likely to develop psychosis following childbirth than younger mothers. More specifically, mothers aged 35 or older were twice as likely to develop psychosis after delivery than mother aged 19 or younger.
Mothers who had diabetes and had infants with higher birth weights were less likely to develop psychosis after delivery. Smoking and not living with the baby’s father had little impact on whether a first-time mother developed psychosis.
The researchers offered several explanations as to why first-time mothers are more likely to develop psychosis, including the fact that their hormones are fluctuating a lot after delivery. However, they say more research needs to be done in order to better understand the reasons why a mother may develop psychosis after childbirth.
Source:
Psych Central: First-Time Mothers and Mental Illness
