Postnatal Psychosis.

Postnatal psychosis is a serious mental health condition that can put both mother and baby at risk but is treatable through specialised psychiatric assessment, care and treatment. Psychosis can cause significant and sudden changes in a person’s thinking, mood, behaviour, actions and sleep patterns.

The symptoms of postnatal psychosis may look like: 

• abrupt mood swings 

• strange beliefs 

• sensory hallucinations 

• confusion 

• loss of contact with reality  

• unusual erratic behaviour  

Due to the nature of this particular mental health disorder, in most situations, it will be the partner or close family member of the mother seeking help on their behalf as the mother may be resistant or perhaps even think people are trying to harm her. For women that experience postpartum psychosis, ongoing support is need throughout the recovery process and urgent mental health assessment and treatment is essential to ensure safety to both mother and baby/children.