Follow-up and family study of postpartum psychoses. Part III: Characteristics of psychoses occurring exclusively in relation to childbirth.

As part of a follow-up and family study of postpartum psychoses, this episode of illness being the first leading to psychiatric hospitalisation, patients with puerperal episodes (PE) and nonpuerperal episodes (NPE) of illness in the long-term course (n = 79) were compared to patients with PE only (n = 40). Few differences were found. Relatives of patients with PE only had a lower morbidity risk for functional psychoses than relatives of patients with PE and NPE. A favourable course of illness in the presence of a low genetic predisposition may be expected, according to the diathesis-stress model of functional psychoses.