Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-t5pn6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T01:20:52.676Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Postnatal Psychiatric Illness: the Impact on Partners

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

S. Lovestone  and
R. Kumar
S. Lovestone*
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF
R. Kumar
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF
*
∗Correspondence
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Out of 24 spouses of women with postnatal psychiatric illness admitted to a mother and baby unit over 12 months, 12 were found to be psychiatrically ill, as defined by RDC or DSM-III criteria. The rate of psychiatric disorder was higher in these men than in a control group of men whose partners remained well after childbirth and a group of men whose partners were admitted to a psychiatric hospital with non-puerperal illness. The onset of psychiatric illness in the men typically followed admission of their wives to the mother and baby unit. Other associations with illness in the man were a history of chronic social problems, previous psychiatric episodes, and a poor relationship with his own father.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 163 , Issue 2 , August 1993 , pp. 210 - 216
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1993 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1980) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn) (DSM-III). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
Atkinson, A. K. & Rickel, A. U. (1984) Postpartum depression in primiparous parents. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 93, 115–119.Google Scholar
Baron, M., Mendelwicz, J., Gruen, R., et al (1981) Assortative mating in affective disorders. Journal of Affective Disorders, 3, 167–171.Google Scholar
Benedek, T. (1959) Parenthood as a developmental phase: a contribution to the libido theory. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 7, 389–417.Google Scholar
Bieber, I. & Bieber, T. B. (1978) Postpartum reactions in men and women. Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis, 6, 511–519.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Birtchnell, J. (1991) Negative modes of relating, marital quality and depression. British Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 648–657.Google Scholar
Brown, G. W. & Harris, T. (1978) Social Origins of Depression. London: Tavistock.Google ScholarPubMed
Brown, G. W., Andrews, B., Harris, T., et al (1986) Social support, self esteem and depression. Psychological Medicine, 16, 813–831.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brugha, T., Bebbington, P., Tennant, C., et al (1985) The list of threatening experiences. Psychological Medicine, 15, 189–194.Google Scholar
Caplan, H. L., Cogill, S. R., Alexandra, H., et al (1989) Maternal depression and the emotional development of the child. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 154, 818–822.Google Scholar
Cavenar, J. O. & Butts, N. T. (1977) Fatherhood and emotional illness. American Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 429–431.Google ScholarPubMed
Cogill, S. R., Caplan, H. L., Alexandra, H., et al (1986) Impact of maternal depression on cognitive development of young children. British Medical Journal, 292, 1165–1167.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Corney, R. H. & Clare, A. W. (1985) The construction, development and testing of a self report questionnaire to identify social problems. Psychological Medicine, 15, 637–649.Google Scholar
Cox, J. L., Connor, J. L. & Kendell, R. E. (1982) Prospective study of the psychiatric disorders of childbirth. British Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 111–117.Google Scholar
Cox, J. L., Holden, J. M. & Saoovsky, R. (1987) Detection of postnatal depression: development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. British Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 782–786.Google Scholar
Davenport, Y. B. & Adland, M. L. (1982) Postpartum psychoses in female and male bipolar manic depressive patients. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 52, 288.Google Scholar
Dunner, D. L., Fleiss, J. L., Aldenizio, G., et al (1976) Assortative mating in primary affective disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 11, 43–51.Google Scholar
Endicott, J. & Spitzer, R. L. (1978) A diagnostic interview. The Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 35, 837–844.Google Scholar
Endicott, J. & Spitzer, R. L. (1979) Use of the Research Diagnostic Criteria and the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia to study affective disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 52–56.Google Scholar
Fadden, G. G., Kuipers, L. & Bebbington, P. E. (1987) Caring and its burdens: a study of the relatives of depressed patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 660–667.Google Scholar
Fowler, R. C. & Tsuang, M. T. (1975) Spouses of schizophrenics. A blind comparative study. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 16, 339–342.Google Scholar
Freeman, T. (1951) Pregnancy as a precipitant of mental illness in men. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 24, 49–54.Google Scholar
Gater, R. & Goldberg, D. (1991) Pathways to psychiatric care in South Manchester. British Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 90–96.Google Scholar
Gershon, E. S., Dunner, D. L., Stuart, L., et al (1973) Assortative mating in the affective disorders. Biological Psychiatry, 7, 63–74.Google Scholar
Gerzi, S. & Berman, E. (1981) Emotional reactions of expectant fathers to their wives' first pregnancy. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 54, 259–265.Google Scholar
Ginath, Y. (1974) Psychoses in males in relation to their wives' pregnancy and childbirth. Israel Annals of Psychiatry, 12, 227–237.Google Scholar
Goldberg, D. & Williams, P. (1988) A User's Guide to the General Health Questionnaire. Windsor: NFER-Nelson.Google Scholar
Harvey, I. & McGrath, G. (1988) Psychiatric morbidity in spouses of women admitted to a mother and baby unit. British Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 506–510.Google Scholar
Jarvis, W. (1962) Some effects of pregnancy and childbirth on men. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 10, 689–700.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendell, R. E., Wainwright, S., Hailey, A., et al (1976) The influence of childbirth on psychiatric morbidity. Psychological Medicine, 6, 297–302.Google Scholar
Kuipers, L. (1992) Needs of relatives of long-term psychiatric patients. In Measuring Mental Health Needs (eds Thomicroft, G., Brewin, C. R. & Wing, J.), pp. 291–307. London: Gaskell.Google Scholar
Kumar, R. & Robson, K. M. (1984) A prospective study of emotional disorders in childbearing women. British Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 35–47.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kumar, R. & Smith, A. M. R. (1984) Development of a selfadministered questionnaire to measure maternal adjustment and maternal attitudes during pregnancy and after delivery. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 28, 43–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lacoursiere, R. B. (1972) Fatherhood and mental illness: a review and new material. Psychiatric Quarterly, 46, 109–124.Google Scholar
MacCarthy, B., Lesages, A., Brewin, C. R., et al (1989) Needs for care among the relatives of long-term users of daycare. Psychological Medicine, 19, 725–736.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merikangas, R. R. (1982) Assortative mating for psychiatric disorders and psychological traits. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 1173–1180.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morris, R. G., Woods, R. T., Davies, K. S., et al (1991) Gender differences in the carers of dementia sufferers. British Journal of Psychiatry, 158 (suppl. 10), 69–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murray, L., Cooper, P. J. & Stein, A. (1991) Postnatal depression and infant development. British Medical Journal, 309, 978–979.Google Scholar
Nettelbladt, P., Uddenberg, N. & Englesson, I. (1980) Father/ child relationship: background factors in the father. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 61, 29–42.Google Scholar
Nettelbladt, P., Uddenberg, N. & Englesson, I. (1981) Mental health of 58 Swedish men living together with their wives and preschool children. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 63, 463–478.Google Scholar
O'Hara, M. W. & Zekoski, E. M. (1988) Postpartum depression: a comprehensive review. In Motherhood and Mental Illness 2: Causes and Consequences (eds Kumar, R. & Brockington, F.). London: Wright.Google Scholar
Parker, G. (1989) The parental bonding instrument; psychometric properties reviewed. Psychiatric Development, 4, 317–335.Google Scholar
Parker, G., Tupling, P. & Brown, L. B. (1979) A parental bonding instrument. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 52, 1–10.Google Scholar
Parnas, J. (1988) Assortative mating in schizophrenia: results from the Copenhagen high risk study. Psychiatry, 51, 56–64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Power, M. J., Champion, L. A. & Aris, S. J. (1988) The development of a measure of social support: the Significant Others Scale (SOS). British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 27, 349–358.Google Scholar
Rideout, E. M., Rodin, G. M. & Littlefield, L. H. (1990) Stress, social support and symptoms of depression in spouses of the medically ill. International Journal of Psychiatric Medicine, 20, 37–48.Google Scholar
Rust, J., Bennun, I., Crowe, M., et al (1986) The Golombok Rust Inventory of Marital State (GRIMS). Sexual and Marital Therapy, 1, 55–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shapiro, S. & Nass, J. (1986) Postpartum psychosis in the male. Psychopathology, 19, 138–142.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Silove, D., Parker, G., Hadzi-Pavlovic, D., et al (1991) Parental representations of patients with panic disorder and generalised anxiety disorder. British Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 835–841.Google Scholar
Spitzer, R. L., Endicott, J. & Robins, E. (1978) Research Diagnostic Criteria, rationale and reliability. Archives of General Psychiatry, 35, 773–782.Google Scholar
Towne, R. D. & Afterman, J. (1955) Psychosis in males related to parenthood. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 19, 19–26.Google Scholar
Wainwright, W. (1966) Fatherhood as a precipitant of mental illness. American Journal of Psychiatry, 123, 40–44.Google Scholar
Waring, E. M. & Patton, D. (1984) Marital intimacy and depression. British Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 641–644.Google Scholar
Waters, B., Marchenko, I., Abrams, N., et al, (1983) Assortative mating for major affective disorder. Journal of Affective Disorder, 5, 9–17.Google Scholar
Watson, J. P., Elliott, S. A., Ruog, A. J., et al (1984) Psychiatric disorder in pregnancy and the first postnatal year. British Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 453–462.Google Scholar
Zilboorg, G. (1931) Depressive reactions related to parenthood. American Journal of Psychiatry, 87, 927–962.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.