Childbirth
Postpartum psychosis
The period around childbirth can be incredibly challenging for new parents. It is also the time in a woman’s life when the risk of mental illness is at its highest — which is why we believe it deserves focused research attention. The more we understand about the triggers for postpartum mental illness, the better placed we will be to identify and treat it more effectively. By focusing on this specific time period, we may also be able to learn more about severe mental illness at other time points as well.
Postpartum psychosis is considered to be rare, affecting around 1 to 2 in every 1,000 births, yet it is among the most severe psychiatric conditions. It is not yet formally recognised in current diagnostic systems, and this lack of clarity around its classification has hampered early diagnosis, treatment, and research. Much of what we currently know is drawn from studies conducted in high-income, Western countries.
We are committed to addressing this through rigorous, internationally collaborative research, with the aim of improving standards of care for women and AFAB people. Our team has been working on postpartum psychosis for over 20 years, publishing in peer-reviewed journals — including the first genetic analyses of the condition — and partnering with collaborators worldwide to deepen our understanding.
Our research
Our clinicians and researchers span Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe, and together we form the International Postpartum Psychosis Consortium. By working across borders and cultures, we hope to build a more complete picture of postpartum psychosis and ultimately raise the standard of diagnosis and care globally. Our findings are already contributing to the development of updated diagnostic criteria, though much work remains.
We have carried out cross-cultural public involvement work to explore how postpartum psychosis presents across different countries and contexts. We have collaborated with people with lived experience to define key research priorities, developed a dedicated research assessment tool, and are actively pursuing genetic analyses of the condition.
With the generous support of our volunteers, we have assembled a collection of over 800 DNA samples from individuals who have experienced postpartum psychosis — the largest such collection in the world. This resource will allow us to investigate the biological factors that contribute to risk and begin unpacking how they interact to shape each person’s experience.
About the project
As part of the Reproductive Mental Health Programme, we are running the Mums and Mental Health (MaM) study, which aims to identify the environmental and biological triggers of postpartum psychosis. We are also working closely with mother and baby units across the UK to recruit women who have experienced severe perinatal mood disorders.
This study is open to anyone who has given birth, whether or not they experienced a mental health episode during pregnancy or the postpartum period. By gathering information from people with a wide range of experiences, we hope to build a clearer understanding of the causes and risk factors involved.
If you choose to take part, we will ask you to share some information about yourself, your menstrual cycle, and your mental health history — all of which will help us answer these important research questions.
Take part
If you have given birth, please consider taking part.
We are looking for volunteers to help us with a range of research projects. Read more about our studies that are currently recruiting.