A prospective study of postpartum psychoses in a high-risk group. 6. Relationship to birth complications and neonatal abnormality.

Somatic complications of labor and delivery and offspring abnormality were studied in relationship to the development of 24 postpartum psychotic episodes (PPPs) occurring among index women with a history of nonorganic psychosis. The 24 PPP cases were compared with 60 index cases not developing PPPs. Nonsignificant trends were found towards increased rates of induction of labor, fetal distress, instrumental deliveries and offspring abnormality among cases with PPP onset within 3 weeks of delivery. Instrumental delivery was the only complication that tended to have occurred with increased frequency among cases with PPP onset after 3 weeks.