Mental Illness and Mothers

Current data suggest that approximately one-half of all women with serious mental illness are mothers. Though relatively few children live with parents who are psychotic, many parents suffer from persistent problems such as anxiety disorder, chronic depression, bipolar disorder, or personality disorder. Short-term depression is the most frequently found mental illness. Women may have children before they develop a mental disorder; in fact, serious mental health problems may first occur during a woman's pregnancy or soon after giving birth. Some women experience their first episode of depression, anxiety, or other psychiatric disorder during this time. Others suffer from postpartum depression.