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Emotional and Cognitive Disturbance in the Early Puerperium

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Francis J. Kane Jr.
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, N.C.
William J. Harman Jr.
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Martin H. Keeler
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, N.C.
John A. Ewing
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, N.C.

Extract

Pregnancy and the post-partum period are generally regarded as maturational crises equal in importance to those of adolescence and the menopause. Stresses undergone during this period include (a) endocrine changes, (b) activation of unconscious psychological conflicts pertaining to pregnancy and (c) the intrapsychic reorganization of becoming a mother. In light of this, it seems likely that clinically significant interactions of psychosocial and endocrine factors will be found in the aetiology of these disorders. The first month post-partum shows the greatest incidence of overt mental illness (7, 9), and this has led many to relate this disturbance to the termination of placental function and the metabolic and/or endocrine changes accompanying this.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1968 

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