Nagendrappa Sachin, Vinod Pratibha, Pai Naveen Manohar, Ganjekar Sundarnag, Desai Geetha, Kishore M Thomas, Thippeswamy Harish, Vaiphei Kimneihat, Chandra Prabha S
Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India.
Department of Clinical Psychology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India.
Front Glob Womens Health. 2021 Jul 14;2:648429. doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2021.648429. eCollection 2021.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in India has created several challenges in the care of women with perinatal mental illness. Access to healthcare has been disrupted by lockdowns, travel restrictions, and the unavailability of outpatient services. This report aims to discuss the challenges faced by women with severe mental illnesses during the perinatal period with the help of two case reports. Accordingly, we have highlighted the role of COVID-19 infection as a traumatic event during childbirth and its role in triggering a psychotic episode in women with vulnerabilities; difficulties faced by women with postpartum psychosis in accessing perinatal psychiatry services; and the challenges of admission into an inpatient Mother-Baby Unit (MBU). Further, we have discussed potential solutions from the perspectives of Lower and Middle-income (LAMI) countries that need to be extended beyond the pandemic. They include offering video consultations, reviewing hospital policies, and evolving strategies to mitigate traumatic experiences for pregnant and postpartum women with severe mental illnesses in both obstetric and psychiatric care.
印度持续的新冠疫情给患有围产期精神疾病的女性的护理带来了诸多挑战。封锁、旅行限制以及门诊服务的缺乏扰乱了医疗保健的可及性。本报告旨在借助两例病例报告，探讨患有严重精神疾病的女性在围产期所面临的挑战。据此，我们强调了新冠病毒感染作为分娩期间的创伤性事件及其在引发易患精神病的女性出现精神病发作方面的作用；产后精神病女性在获得围产期精神病学服务时所面临的困难；以及入住母婴病房（MBU）的挑战。此外，我们从低收入和中等收入（LAMI）国家的角度讨论了需要在疫情之外继续推广的潜在解决方案。这些方案包括提供视频咨询、审查医院政策，以及制定策略以减轻产科和精神科护理中患有严重精神疾病的孕妇和产后女性的创伤经历。
