Postpartum emotional illness: recognition and management in primary care

Recognition and management of postpartum depression and other emotional illnesses in the primary care setting is both possible and desirable. Screening questionnaires and clinical interviews, education of the patient and her family, and appropriate use of medication and support will allow the primary care physician to manage the majority of these cases successfully. Depression is the most common disorder seen in the postpartum period, but several other psychiatric illnesses are also more common in this period. Decisions about pharmacologic management as well as hospitalization must be made in the context of risks and benefits to the patient, her baby, and her family. Although untreated emotional illness in postpartum women can have longterm sequelae for the family, appropriately managed most of these disorders have an excellent prognosis.