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The British Journal of Psychiatry (2000) 176: 92
© 2000 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

Correspondence

Post-abortion mania

I. F. Brockington

Division of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Queen Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital, Mindelsohn Way, Birmingham B15 2QZ

I was interested to read the report by Dr Mahe and his colleagues, describing a woman who suffered from five episodes of puerperal mania and two of post-abortion psychosis, one after a therapeutic abortion and one after a spontaneous abortion. This clinical observation is a valuable contribution to the literature.

The association of acute psychosis with abortion in women susceptible to puerperal psychosis has previously been noted in nine reports, starting with Esquirol in 1819. Some of the terminations were carried out in order to prevent a puerperal psychosis! This literature is summarised in my book Motherhood & Mental Health, pages 91-93. There is evidence, especially from Denmark (David, 1985), that abortion is a greater risk factor than a full-term pregnancy.

REFERENCES

  1. Brockington, I. F. (1996) Motherhood & Mental Health. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  2. David, H. P. (1985) Post-abortion and post-partum psychiatric hospitalization. In Abortion: Medical Progress and Social Implications. CIBA Foundation Symposium 115, pp. 150-164. Chichester: Wiley.
  3. Mahe, V., Nartowski, J., Montagnon, F., et al (1999) Psychosis with gonadorelin agonist administration (letter). British Journal of Psychiatry, 175, 290 -291.




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