“There were snipers on the roof,” she recalled thinking, “and there were spy cams in our bedroom and everyone was watching me. And my cellphone was giving me weird messages.”
Elizabeth (not real name) waited for the police to burst in and take her away. But the next morning, she woke up in her own bed. The cops must have arrested the nanny instead, she decided. That was wrong, Elizabeth thought to herself. The nanny shouldn’t be punished for my crime.
Elizabeth told her husband it wasn’t fair. She was going to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge.”
Delusion, hallucination, and confusion… Three major signs that a new mother isn’t just sleep-deprived and exhausted from caring for her baby, but actually experiencing post-partum psychosis. Many women like Elizabeth cannot tell when reality begins to blur into the conjured images and mind games of mental illness. Although rare, and said to occur in 1 in 1000 women, postpartum psychosis begins suddenly within days or weeks after childbirth and symptoms can last up to 6 months.
Postpartum psychosis is a psychiatric emergency that requires prompt medical attention and can be very distressing for the affected mother, her baby and her family. Apart from the 3 cardinal signs stated above, affected mothers may also experience symptoms such as alternating between a high mood (Mania) and low mood, anxiety and irritability, inability to sleep, feeling agitated with racing thoughts, acting irrationally or out of character, feeling suspicious and fearful, or even considering and attempting suicide.
It’s hard to tell for sure who will experience these frightening symptoms but there are parts of a mother’s past health history that can provide pointers. Unplanned pregnancies, ongoing mental illness without medication, previous post-partum psychosis, previous mental illness of any kind, and a family history of post-partum psychosis or bipolar disorder may predispose mothers to this condition.
Hormone levels and disturbed sleep patterns may also play a role and some mothers without any obvious risk factors may go on to develop post-partum psychosis. Women with risk factors should make sure to provide details of their past mental health history early enough to enable their doctors prepare an appropriate treatment and support plan before delivery. With support from close family and friends, such women can be observed closely after delivery and placed on medication early enough to control symptoms and give her a normal post-delivery experience.
Symptoms often wax and wane, and doctors may sometimes miss the tell-tale signs especially if an affected mother attends her appointment when her symptoms have waned. Therefore, family support and awareness are pertinent, especially in cases where there were no initial warning signs, as affected mothers become typically unaware of their condition and need to be checked in to the hospital and cared for. Spouses and families must understand that this is certainly not the time for shame or stigma, but one for learning and support.
With medication, the right hospital, family support and helpful habits, mothers can make a full recovery, often over the space of 6 to 12 months. Treatment may require hospital admission, meaning separation from your baby in most hospitals, where you will likely get supervised access till you get much better. With compliance to medication, your symptoms are expected to stabilize within a few weeks and full access to your baby can then be restored.
It does help to receive care at a center where maternal bonding is prioritized, so you don’t lose time and connection with your baby while in treatment.
Its important to point out that after full recovery, you may feel down or sad about the whole experience and find it awkward to re-adjust into normal life at first. Be reminded that this condition is not your fault and you’ve done nothing wrong. You simply experienced a serious but treatable medical condition much like many other mothers and what’s more, you made a full recovery!