EMOTIONAL AND PSYCHIATRIC COMPLICATIONS OF POSTPARTUM

The three emotional and psychiatric complications of post-partum are: puerperal psychoses ; post-natal depressions ; and post-partum blues. Puerperal psychoses (prevalence = 0,2 %) are now well known in their clinical and therapeutic aspects. Much less known are the post-natal depressions, in spite of their high incidence (10 to 20 % of women). The consequences upon the life of patients and mother-child bond are still ignored. These depressions are too rarely adequately treated. Finally, post-partum blues is to be recognized for a preventive purpose, its intensity being a predictive factor of post-natal depression.