Tima?s* experience with motherhood was unlike anything she could have imagined. The Toronto-based new mom knew about the postpartum period and expected her body to change. What she didn?t anticipate was how simply giving birth could cause her to lose her mind.
Tima couldn?t eat. She couldn?t sleep. ?I thought the police were watching me with cameras,? she said. She saw police cars everywhere and even told police she knew they were out to kill her.
Postpartum psychosis has been at the root of some high-profile tragedies involving mothers taking the lives of their children. But not everyone knows that the condition has a name, or that it is highly treatable; public awareness of the condition can prevent not only a mental health crisis but suicide and infanticide. We talked to an expert to learn more about this condition.
What is postpartum psychosis"
Postpartum psychosis is a severe mental illness that causes a complete break with reality. ?Psychosis only occurs in one or two out of every thousand women who give birth,? says Dr. Diana Lynn Barnes, a psychologist specializing in perinatal mood disorders at the Center for Postpartum Health in Los Angeles. ?About four percent of those women will commit infanticide, and five percent will commit suicide.?
For these reasons, postpartum psychosis is a medical emergency that usually requires immediate hospitalization.
What are the symptoms of postpartum psychosis"
?It’s a sudden onset illness,? says Barnes. ?Generally...