Perinatal Stress, Mood and Anxiety Disorders: From Bench to Bedside (Key Issues in Mental Health, No. 173)

Mood and anxiety disorders are very common during the perinatal period, with severe consequences not only for the mother but also for the child and the whole family. Recent research has shown how maternal stress, anxiety and depression can adversely influence a child's early and later development. It is therefore widely accepted that mental disorders in the perinatal period require special attention and uniquely modified treatments including pharmacological, nonpharmacological and psychotherapeutic approaches. In this volume, a group of internationally renowned experts review the most important topics of the field from both a clinical as well as a preclinical perspective - the history of psychiatry of motherhood, questions of classification of these disorders, the effects of chronic maternal stress on fetal development and a child's vulnerability to later psychiatric illness, the risk of perinatal infanticide and suicide and finally the most important forms and modifications of therapies for perinatal mental disorders including questions of pharmacotherapy during pregnancy and breast-feeding, the relevance of gonadal hormones, specific forms of psychotherapy as well as alternative treatment strategies for pregnant and breast-feeding women. In this book, clinicians and researchers from the fields of psychiatry, psychology, psychotherapy, neurobiology and psychoneuroendocrinology, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology as well as their students will find valuable information for their daily work.

This collection of 12 articles includes the most recent data and analysis by leading scholars and researchers on a variety of issues practitioners must understand to effectively recognize, diagnose and treat perinatal disorders. Topics include a historical perspective on the psychiatry of motherhood, diagnostic classifications of perinatal mood disorders, maternal adversity, vulnerability and disease, behavioral perinatology, the role of an adverse early environment in maternal depression, suicide and infanticide, the role of gonadal hormones, pharmacotherapy for psychiatric disorders in pregnancy, the effect of breast-feeding on treatment for postpartum depression, the efficacy of interpersonal and group psychotherapy, and alternative treatments. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Annotation The twelve articles included offer a comprehensive up-to-date overview of the most relevant research and treatment considerations in this neglected field. A brief, though very interesting introduction to the history of psychiatry of motherhood is followed by the discussion of the old question if perinatal disorders are specific entities and if they should have a specific place in our classification systems. This book is aimed primarily at clinicians, teachers and researchers from the fields of psychiatry (adult as well as child and adolescent psychiatry), obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, psychology, psychotherapy, neurobiology and psychoneuroendocrinology as well as their students and learners "In this volume, a group of internationally renowned experts review the most important topics of the field from both a clinical as well as a preclinical perspective. In this book, clinicians and researchers from the fields of psychiatry, psychology, psychotherapy, neurobiology and psychoneuroendocrinology, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology as well as their students will find valuable information for their daily work."--BOOK JACKET