Perinatal mental health Flashcards
What are the 5 main theories of psychology?
- Behaviourist
- Cognitive
- Humanistic
- Biopsychological
- Psychodynamic
What is personality?
- each persons unique, distinctive and consistent tendencies or enduring patterns of thinking and behaving, in different circumstances over time and across situations..
What are the key elements of the psychodynamic perspective?
- freud
- unconscious motivations
- developmental conflicts
- conflict between the ego (mediator, reality), id (devil, primitive + pleasure) and superego (angel, morality)
According to freuds theory and the psychodynamic perspective what are the most common defence mechanisms?
- repression
- regression
- denial
- displacement
- rationalisation
What is the key belief of the behaviourist approach?
- behaviour is influenced primarily by the environment, conditioning and reinforcement through consequences
- concepts of behaviour should be observable and measurable
What is the key belief of the cognitive perspective?
- that we cognitively appraise the world in terms of existing knowledge and learn through observation and vicarious reinforcement
- influenced by attention, memory, perception, thinking, problem solving, reasoning, concept attainment and language
What is the key belief of the humanistic perspective?
that people are unique, free, rational, self-determining and have the potential for personal growth
From the humanistic perspective, what is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
- physiological
- safety
- love + belonging
- esteem
- self-actualisation
What was Carl Rogers theory of personality from the humanistic perspective?
- viewed personality in terms of self-concept, a persons thoughts and beliefs about themselves
- self-image, self-esteem and ideal self
- conflict arises when incongruence between experience and self-concept
What is the key belief of the biopsychological perspective?
that behaviour is largely shaped by physiological (structural, chemical, hormonal, pathological) and genetic factors
What is the definition of the perinatal period?
- from conception to through to the end of the first year after birth.
What kinds of mental health problems may occur in the perinatal period?
- baby blues
- major depression
- anxiety disorders
- obsessive compulsive disorders
- post traumatic stress disorder
- eating disorders
- bipolar
- postpartum psychosis
- schizophrenia
What factors may make women more vulnerable to developing mental health problems in the perinatal period?
- family or personal history of mental illness
- young age
- poor support
- history of prior miscarriage or stillbirth
- unwanted pregnancy
What are some of the challenges of developing a mental illness in the perinatal period?
- relationship with partner
- mother-infant attachment
- adaptation to being a parent
- impact on the infant inutero
- risk of adverse obstetric outcomes
- impact on infant development
- potential for mandatory reporting to child protection, court and custody considerations
- risk of harm to mother or infant
What are the baby (or postpartum) blues?
- commonly experienced with the onset of lactation around day 3-5 after birth
- transient, can last for hours to days
What is the name of the australian and state government initiative to improve prevention, detection, and care for women experiencing perinatal depression?
the National Perinatal Depression Initiative (NPDI)
What are the key components of the National Perinatal Depression Initiative?
- routine universal screening in antenatal and postnatal settings
- follow up support for care of women
- training of health professionals
- research
- clinical guidelines on perinatal mental health
- community awareness
What is the main tool used to assess for signs of depression and anxiety in the perinatal period?
The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)
What kind of questions may you ask a woman to assess her psychological wellbeing?
- past and present mental health
- family history
- past/current physical, sexual or psychological abuse/violence
- drug/alcohol abuse by self or partner
- emotional/practical support
- recent life stressors such as financial strain, relationship problems, illness, pregnancy complications or loss, loss of someone close or moving house
What kinds of questions might you ask to assess a woman’s past and present mental health?
- feeling down, depressed or hopeless
- feeling little interest or pleasure
- worrying so much it affects day-to-day life
- currently/previously receiving treatment for a mental health condition such as depression or anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder or psychosis
- immediate family experiencing or receiving treatment for a mental health problem particularly significant depression, bipolar, psychoses, self-harm and/or suicide attempts, significant drug and alcohol use
What are the diagnostic signs and symptoms of perinatal depression?
occurring on most days in the last 2 weeks: - low mood - irritability - tearfulness - feelings of hopelessness - lack of interest - weight or appetite changes - sleeping problems - fatigue - feelings of worthlessness/guilt - difficulties concentrating - thoughts of death or suicide - agitation some symptoms may overlap with normal changes associated with motherhood
What are some examples of anxiety disorders in the perinatal period?
- generalised anxiety disorder
- phobias
- obsessive compulsive disorder
- panic disorders
- agoraphobia
- post traumatic stress disorder
What are the diagnostic signs and symptoms of perinatal anxiety?
- anxiety and worry
- restlessness
- easily fatigued
- difficulty concentrating
- irritability
- muscle tension
- sleep disturbance
What are the diagnostic signs and symptoms of panic disorder?
panic attacks:
- pounding heart
- trembling or numbness
- shortness of breath
- chills or hot flushes
- dizziness, lightheadedness or faintness
- fear of losing control
- fear of dying
- agoraphobia
What are the signs and symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder?
- persistent repetitive thoughts, dreams or flashbacks associated with intense distress
- avoidance of thoughts, feelings and situations associated with the traumatic even
- feelings of detachment
- restricted range of affect
- hyper vigilance
- sleeping difficulties
- irritability
- anger
- difficulty concentrating
- easily triggered
for at least a month
What are the major risk factors for developing depression and anxiety in the perinatal period?
- past history of depression/anxiety
- antenatal depression/anxiety
- lack of support from partner or relationship problems
- family history of depression or other mental health problems
- lack of practical, financial, social, emotional support
- major life stressors (death, relationship breakdown, unemployment, moving house, miscarriage, illness)
What is puerperal psychosis?
- a psychotic episode that arises following childbirth
- a psychiatric emergency
- risk of harming themselves or their baby
- requires hospitalisation for treatment
- may be associated with underlying bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or may occur only in the context of childbirth
When does puerperal psychosis usually manifest?
- within the first month after birth
What are the diagnostic signs and symptoms of puerperal psychosis?
- delusional beliefs
- disorganised thinking/confusion
- mood lability or elevated/depressed mood
- irritability
- hallucinations (false sensory perceptions)
What is Bipolar disorder?
a set of conditions characterised by extreme mood swings that can include mania, hypomania, depression and psychotic experiences that interfere with day-to-day life
What are the characteristics of mania and hypomania?
- high energy levels
- positive mood
- rapid speech
- irritability
- impaired judgement and impulsive behaviour
- increased libido
- creativity
- mystical experiences
In the context of bipolar disorder, how is hypomania different from mania?
generally less severe, shorter (less than four days duration), not severe enough to impair social or occupational functioning or necessitate hospitalisation and no psychotic features
When does bipolar disorder usually manifest?
- typically in late adolescence and early adulthood
- often in the perinatal period
What diagnostic signs and symptoms of schizophrenia?
- hallucinations
- delusions
- lack of motivation
- lacks expression of feelings
- limited speech
- inability to enjoy activity
- reduced self-care
What signs are you looking for when you consider mother-infant interaction?
- physical attentiveness
- eye contact
- empathy
- response to infant
- identification of infant cues
- enjoyment and emotional engagement
- infant that responds to stimuli (cries when distressed and settles when comforted)
What kind of questions might you ask to assess the mental health of a woman’s partner?
- how has your partner been coping since the birth of your baby?
- how is your partner adjusting to parenthood?
- how is your relationship with your partner?
What are some common reasons why women may not seek help when they experience symptoms of perinatal mental health disorders?
- cultural differences
- language barriers
- lack of familiarity with the Victorian health system
- belief that a ‘good’ mother should be able to cope on her own or that this is a normal part of motherhood
- reluctance to ask for help or disclose information to a health professional
- stigma/shame
- guilt
- denial
- not wanting to waste peoples time
- fear of having feelings dismissed, trivialised or normalised
- prior negative experience with a health professional
- concerns about privacy/confidentiality
- lack of awareness of available resources
- unwillingness to undertake treatment
- logistical barriers (lack of time, childcare, transport, money)
- family disapproval
What are the limitations of the EPDS?
- not diagnostic
- rapid screening tool
- should not replace clinical judgement
- not predictive of future depression