Puerperal psychosis in a teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia: clinical profile and cross-cultural comparison.

The clinical profile of 39 women with puerperal psychosis admitted within 90 days of childbirth to a teaching hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is described and compared with groups of women with a similar diagnosis admitted to Royal Edinburgh Hospital within the same period after delivery. The majority of women in both groups had an affective illness, acute presentation and similar interval between parturition and onset of illness. There were significant differences between the groups as regards parity, duration of illness prior to admission and presence of motility disturbances. These differences were attributed to sociocultural factors that are briefly discussed.