Foundation Doctor Taster Week
Perinatal Psychiatry
Perinatal Psychiatry is a branch of General Adult Psychiatry concerned with:
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The prevention, detection and management of mental illness cooccurring or newly emerging in pregnancy or the postnatal period
The assessment and facilitation of the mother-infant relationship and
developmental needs of infants in the context of maternal mental
illness
In a week working with a perinatal mental health team, foundation doctors
will have the opportunity to experience:
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The assessment and management of pregnant and postnatal women
with a range of mental illnesses in inpatient, community and outpatient
settings
The nature and range of treatments, and ways of working, on mother
and baby units, to improve maternal ill health and mother-infant
wellbeing
The roles of mental health and childcare professionals working in
specialist perinatal mental health teams
The specific expertise of perinatal psychiatrists as specialists in team
leadership, diagnosis, prescribing in pregnancy and breastfeeding, and
assessment of the mother-infant relationship and infant development
Foundation doctors will gain this experience through:
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Attendance at inpatient and community patient reviews
Shadowing the consultant or psychiatric trainee in day to day work
Attending an outpatient clinic and maternity liaison assessment
Taking a case history from women with maternal mental illness
By the end of a taster week, the foundation doctor should have a basic
understanding of:
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How pregnancy and childbirth can affect the course and risk of mental
illness
The impact of mental illness, and its treatment, on pregnancy and the
mother-infant relationship
The role of psychiatrists in assisting women with mental illness to
make decisions about their treatment during pregnancy and the
postpartum period
R Cantwell Sept 2011