The latest Maternal Deaths Enquiry,
Saving Mothers’ Lives
2003-2005, has found that the number of suicides during
pregnancy and in the year after birth have almost halved since the
last two Enquiries.
This is largely accounted for by a reduction
in the number of suicides taking place within the first six months
of childbirth, particularly in the first three months. The decrease
is linked to a fall in the number of mothers who were seriously
mentally ill, had history of mental illness, and had been under the
care of psychiatric services during their pregnancy.
However, the profile of suicides within three
months of childbirth (37% in the Enquiry compared with 54% in
previous Enquiries) remains the same. All were seriously ill; the
majority had a history of serious affective illness, such as
bipolar illness, and the risk of recurrence following childbirth
was neither identified nor managed by health professionals.
These mothers were not ‘proactively’ managed
by psychiatric services before their last illness (and with one
exception had not been admitted to a Mother and Baby Unit).
The findings have once again led to the
Enquiry making recommendations on the importance of identifying and
treating those at risk of, or suffering from, serious post-partum
psychiatric illness.
For further information, please contact Liz Fox or Deborah
Hart in the Communications Department.
Telephone: 020 7235 2351 Extensions. 6298 or 6127
References:
Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Annual Meeting, Imperial College, London, 1 - 4 July 2008