Managing Postpartum Mental Disorders: An Inside Look at a Mother and Baby Unit

Authors

  • Hina Zafar Ghory

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5915/38-3-6308

Keywords:

Mother and Baby Unit, Postpartum Mental Disorder, Mental Health Services, Women's Health Services

Abstract

Multiple studies have underscored the value of a nurturing relationship between a mother and her newborn child. This relationship may actually become harmful to the baby, however, if the mother is suffering from a mental illness that prevents her from bonding with and responding to her new baby. What kinds of sociocultural factors complicate the experience of mothers suffering from postpartum mental disorders and of the familes of these mothers? What support and treatment models exist for these mothers? This paper stems from my rotation as a medical student at an East London mother and baby unit and its affiliated women's acute mental health ward. It aims to provide an inside glimpse of these mother's stories and to illustrate how this mother and baby unit, in conjunction with local community service agencies, provided a comprehensive system of support and treatment for its patients.

http://dx.doi.org/10.5915/38-3-6308

Downloads

Published

2006-11-25

Issue

Vol. 38 No. 3 (2006)

Section

Case Reports

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).