Practice Resource for Reproductive Psychiatry/Women's Mental Health in Forensic Psychiatry Practice

This practice resource seeks to describe salient problems within reproductive psychiatry (also known as women's mental health) for the practice of forensic psychiatry. Understanding is critical and can help combat gender bias in such evaluations. Forensic psychiatric evaluations in the criminal realm, including evaluations related to neonaticide, infanticide, filicide, child abuse, and kidnapping by cesarean, require an understanding of reproductive psychiatry. Civil forensic evaluations requiring knowledge about reproductive psychiatry include parenting evaluations and risk assessments in the postpartum. Similarly, forensic psychiatrists performing a treatment role within corrections or forensic hospitals recognize the importance of understanding mental illness in pregnancy and postpartum, lactation, mother-baby units, and forced separation or custody loss. In addition to menstruation, pregnancy, and postpartum, specific concerns that bear consideration within reproductive forensic psychiatry include the periods of girlhood and menstruation. Finally, eating disorders and substance misuse bear additional attention in this group.