# Postpartum psychosis (mother) Condition · id `maternal:postpartum-psychosis` · Maternal & Newborn Atlas · release `c7fb95f1d15a7d13` (public) > General information from published sources, not medical advice, and not reviewed by clinicians. Check the cited source before relying on anything here. The atlas's own text and curation may be reused under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/): credit the atlas, and do not use it commercially. See the atlas About page. Text quoted from a source stays under that source's own terms, given as the source's reuse\_basis. The atlas's reuse terms do not cover it. The downloads list each quotation with its source in third\_party\_quotations. Browse, life stage: Postpartum Browse, care area: Mental health ## In plain language A rare, serious illness after childbirth in which a woman may have delusions, hallucinations, mania, paranoia and confusion. NIMH calls it a psychiatric emergency that requires hospital care, and says a woman with these symptoms should seek immediate help by calling 911 or going to the nearest emergency room. Recovery is possible with professional help. ## Technical summary A 2016 review (American Journal of Psychiatry) reports first-lifetime onset in 0.25 to 0.6 per 1,000 births in register studies of psychiatric admissions, with 20% to 50% of women having isolated postpartum psychosis and the rest having episodes outside the perinatal period, usually within the bipolar spectrum (see the claim on this page). The review says the evidence on treatment is sparse, so the atlas records no treatment claim. NIMH and MedlinePlus both describe it as an emergency. It is a different condition from postpartum depression, and both sit under perinatal mental health. The recipient is the postpartum woman. ## Claims, with the population each applies to ## Context: Women after childbirth: postpartum psychosis (review of register and clinical studies, 2016) Recipient: Maternal; Population: Women after childbirth. The incidence figures come from population-based register studies of psychiatric admissions for first-lifetime onset postpartum psychosis or mania. The relapse figure is for women with isolated postpartum psychosis in a subsequent pregnancy.; Care setting: Register studies of psychiatric admissions; inpatient care is usually needed (review abstract).; Geography: Not stated in the abstract; Life stage: Postpartum, after childbirth; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Relapse risk after a subsequent pregnancy (review abstract). ### A 2016 review in the American Journal of Psychiatry describes psychosis or mania after childbirth as a psychiatric emergency with risk for suicide and infanticide. It reports that first-lifetime onset postpartum psychosis or mania, counted from population-based register studies of psychiatric admissions, occurs in 0.25 to 0.6 per 1,000 births. After an incipient episode, 20% to 50% of women have isolated postpartum psychosis, and the remaining women have episodes outside the perinatal period, usually within the bipolar spectrum. For women with isolated postpartum psychosis, the relapse risk after a subsequent pregnancy is 31% (95% CI 22 to 42). The review says inpatient care is usually required. - Category: Burden - Evidence stage: Evidence synthesis - Certainty: Certainty not assessed - Applies to: Recipient: Maternal; Population: Women after childbirth. The incidence figures come from population-based register studies of psychiatric admissions for first-lifetime onset postpartum psychosis or mania. The relapse figure is for women with isolated postpartum psychosis in a subsequent pregnancy.; Care setting: Register studies of psychiatric admissions; inpatient care is usually needed (review abstract).; Geography: Not stated in the abstract; Life stage: Postpartum, after childbirth; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Relapse risk after a subsequent pregnancy (review abstract). - Limitations: This is a narrative review and the atlas read only its PubMed abstract. The incidence range comes from register studies of psychiatric admissions, so women who were not admitted are not counted. The review says fewer than 30 publications have focused on treatment; the largest study (N=64) suggested lithium is highly efficacious, and another report (N=34) described successful electroconvulsive therapy. These are small studies, and the abstract gives no controlled comparison, so the atlas makes no treatment claim. The abstract does not name the countries of the register studies. - Last checked: 2026-10-14 - Sources: 1. Supports: Postpartum Psychosis: Madness, Mania, and Melancholia in Motherhood (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities. The full text and the version of record were not fetched.) Locator: Abstract, OBJECTIVE, sentence 1. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:20Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 903460485d582e15f48689d3800d27694c0f6fc4e45d81eeff5f8892ff607938. How it applies: Postpartum psychosis described as a psychiatric emergency. 2. Supports: Postpartum Psychosis: Madness, Mania, and Melancholia in Motherhood (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities. The full text and the version of record were not fetched.) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 1. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:20Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 903460485d582e15f48689d3800d27694c0f6fc4e45d81eeff5f8892ff607938. How it applies: Incidence from register studies. 3. Supports: Postpartum Psychosis: Madness, Mania, and Melancholia in Motherhood (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities. The full text and the version of record were not fetched.) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:20Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 903460485d582e15f48689d3800d27694c0f6fc4e45d81eeff5f8892ff607938. How it applies: Share with isolated postpartum psychosis. 4. Supports: Postpartum Psychosis: Madness, Mania, and Melancholia in Motherhood (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities. The full text and the version of record were not fetched.) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 3. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:20Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 903460485d582e15f48689d3800d27694c0f6fc4e45d81eeff5f8892ff607938. How it applies: Other women have episodes outside the perinatal period. 5. Supports: Postpartum Psychosis: Madness, Mania, and Melancholia in Motherhood (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities. The full text and the version of record were not fetched.) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 11. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:20Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 903460485d582e15f48689d3800d27694c0f6fc4e45d81eeff5f8892ff607938. How it applies: Relapse risk after a subsequent pregnancy. 6. Supports: Postpartum Psychosis: Madness, Mania, and Melancholia in Motherhood (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities. The full text and the version of record were not fetched.) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 10. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:20Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 903460485d582e15f48689d3800d27694c0f6fc4e45d81eeff5f8892ff607938. How it applies: Inpatient care. 7. Background: Postpartum Psychosis: Madness, Mania, and Melancholia in Motherhood (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities. The full text and the version of record were not fetched.) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 7. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:20Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 903460485d582e15f48689d3800d27694c0f6fc4e45d81eeff5f8892ff607938. How it applies: Treatment evidence is sparse. 8. Background: Postpartum Psychosis: Madness, Mania, and Melancholia in Motherhood (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities. The full text and the version of record were not fetched.) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 8. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:20Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 903460485d582e15f48689d3800d27694c0f6fc4e45d81eeff5f8892ff607938. How it applies: Largest treatment study. 9. Background: Postpartum Psychosis: Madness, Mania, and Melancholia in Motherhood (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities. The full text and the version of record were not fetched.) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 9. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:20Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 903460485d582e15f48689d3800d27694c0f6fc4e45d81eeff5f8892ff607938. How it applies: Another treatment report. 10. Background: Postpartum Psychosis: Madness, Mania, and Melancholia in Motherhood (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities. The full text and the version of record were not fetched.) Locator: Abstract, RESULTS, sentence 12. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:20Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 903460485d582e15f48689d3800d27694c0f6fc4e45d81eeff5f8892ff607938. How it applies: Prevention strategies named in the review. ## Connected pages - A different condition; both belong to perinatal mental health: Perinatal depression (mother) (`maternal:perinatal-depression`) - Filed under this front: Mental health and support (`maternal:front-mental-health-and-support`) ## Provenance Content hash: 0a15660d0e1356b390ae861579d9a1dba1dbd7d7171fedd1a6ab1ad2f392b6b6 Last substantive edit: 2026-10-14 Evidence last checked: 2026-10-14