postpartum psychosis

postpartum psychosis

n.

An acute mental disorder occurring in the mother following childbirth.

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postpartum psychosis

Etymology: L, post, after, partus, birth; Gk, psyche, mind

an episode of psychosis, which may be depressive, after childbirth. Because the condition usually develops in the month after childbirth, endocrinologic factors are believed to be a cause.

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psychosis [si-ko´sis] (pl. psycho´ses)

a state in which a person's mental capacity to recognize reality, communicate, and relate to others is impaired, thus interfering with the capacity to deal with life demands. adj. adj psychot´ic. Mental disorders in which psychotic symptoms may be present include mood disorders, schizophrenia, brief psychotic disorder, delusional disorders, schizophreniform disorder, schizoaffective disorder, shared psychotic disorder, and pervasive developmental disorders.

alcoholic p's psychoses associated with alcohol use and involving organic brain damage, a category that includes alcohol withdrawal delirium, Korsakoff's syndrome, alcoholic hallucinosis, and alcoholic paranoia (concurrent paranoia and alcoholism).

brief reactive psychosis an episode of brief psychotic disorder that is a reaction to a recognizable and distressing life event.

depressive psychosis older term for a psychosis characterized by severe depression, which is now more commonly described as a form of major depressive disorder.

Korsakoff's psychosis Korsakoff's syndrome.

postpartum psychosis a psychotic episode occurring during the postpartum period.

senile psychosis depressive or paranoid delusions or hallucinations or similar mental disorders due to degeneration of the brain in old age, as in senile dementia.

toxic psychosis that due to ingestion of toxic agents or to the presence of toxins within the body.