Postpartum disorders in primary care: diagnosis and treatment

Postpartum psychiatric illness consists of a highly prevalent group of disorders, which can result in serious dysfunction and require treatment. Patients are more likely to seek help for these disorders from their primary care physicians rather than mental health professionals. While severe postpartum depression and psychoses are easily recognized, milder or more insidious forms of depressive illness frequently are missed. Heightened sensitivity to and screening for the presence of these prevalent psychiatric disorders facilitates and enhances recognition of postpartum disorders and leads to more expeditious treatment.