User:Mr. Ibrahem/Postpartum psychosis

Postpartum psychosis (PPP) involves the abrupt onset of psychotic symptoms shortly following childbirth, typically within two weeks of delivery but less than 4 weeks. Symptoms may include seeing or smelling things that are not there (hallucinations), thoughts that are unlikely to be true (delusions), abnormally elevated mood (mania), depression, anxiety, or confusion. Other symptoms may include disorganized thoughts, difficulty sleeping, and variable mood and consciousness. There is generally little understanding of the severity of the condition by the person themselves. Over half of those affected are later diagnosed with bipolar.

The cause is unknown, though may relate to hormone changes, immune system problems, and genetics. Risk factors include first pregnancies, older age, loss of sleep, and a personal or family history of PPP or bipolar disorder. Life stress does not appear to play a role, nor is evidence clear around complications of pregnancy. There are no screening or assessment tools for diagnosis; which is made based on the presenting symptoms, guided by criteria in the DSM-V after ruling out other potential causes. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Volume V (DSM-V TR) it is under brief psychotic disorder with the specifier "peripartum onset", rather then as a separate entity.

It is considered a psychiatric emergency requiring urgent hospitalization. Treatment may include medications such as lithium, benzodiazepines, and antipsychotics, as well as the procedure electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). In cases where a women has previously been effected lithium may be started preventatively immediately after delivery. Psychotic symptoms, particularly those that include delusions of misidentification, cause safety concerns for the baby and mother; with the condition resulting in the child's death in 4% of cases and a risk of suicide by the mother. Divorce occurs in up to 20%.

Postpartum psychosis occurs in 1 to 2 per 1000 childbirths. Rates appear similar in different cultures and social classes. More frequently, it occurs in the context of known or new-onset bipolar, known as postpartum bipolar disorder. The condition has been described since 400 BC by Hippocrates.