Postpartum psychosis

Postpartum psychosis (puerperal psychosis or postnatal psychosis) is a serious mental health illness that can affect a woman soon after she’s given birth.

Postpartum psychosis:

affects about 1 or 2 women in every 1000 – although rare, it can be very serious
usually develops in the first month after you’ve had your baby – it’s common for the symptoms to start in the first few days
can last several weeks or longer – but you’ll usually recover fully
can happen to any woman and often occur out of the blue, even if they haven’t been previously ill
is much less common than baby blues or postnatal depression

Signs of postpartum psychosis

If you have postpartum psychosis you might:

feel extremely happy or overly anxious
start to feel differently about your baby, or have unusual ideas about yourself, your baby or other people
find it difficult to know what’s real and what’s not
sometimes feel like harming yourself or your baby

It can be a frightening experience for you and your partner, friends and family.

If you have bipolar disorder, or you’ve had postpartum psychosis before, it’s important for your partner or family members to know what the symptoms are. They may be ones who notice them first.