Some families must face the loss of a baby or child resulting from PP. We share information for women and families as they cope with this loss. Click/tap a heading for information.

Loss of a baby or child and PP

Postpartum psychosis-related infanticide is very rare. However, PP is a severe mental illness. Women with PP symptoms can experience a vast range of false beliefs and hallucinations. Women with PP can lose touch with reality, symptoms can come and go, be fleeting, changeable or permanent and fixed. Research estimates that some risk occurs to babies in around 35% of cases of PP - due to mothers acting upon false beliefs, incorrectly handling their babies, being severely confused or behaving in very unusual ways.

These beliefs are temporary and caused by the effect postpartum psychosis has on the brain. Which is why it is so essential that our care pathways and systems are responsive and set up appropriately to identify and provide rapid, safe inpatient treatment to women experiencing postpartum psychosis.

UK law recognises that some women suffer temporary mental illness in the postpartum period which can result in severe risk to their baby or young child (Infanticide Act, 1938).

Whilst unwell, women with PP can develop strange beliefs. These might be about feeding or baby care; they might forget they’ve had a baby at all; be unable to stay focussed long enough to safely care for a baby; put the baby to bed in a strange place to keep it safe; believe that the baby is possessed by the devil; believe the baby has died or been replaced; or even believe the baby is an inanimate object.

PP can happen to all women from all socio-economic classes and all backgrounds. The baby being planned or unwanted does not play a role in the chance of developing PP. Neither does a woman’s character have an impact. Nothing can predict or influence how a woman will behave when severely mentally unwell.

Your feelings

Losing a baby or child to PP can feel for mothers, partners and wider families like their world has fallen in. Recovering from PP is tough enough, with depression, anxiety, isolation, loss of hope for the future, guilt, shame, shock and bewilderment common. With the loss of a baby or child these feelings are massively magnified.

As well as recovering from the shock of postpartum psychosis, mothers are grieving the loss of an often much wanted, loved and adored baby.

Fighting a legal system and heated public opinion as well can feel impossible for even the strongest of human beings.

Your feelings as a partner or family member

In the early days following the loss of a child, the shock and disbelief you feel might make it seem like the impact on you and your family is insurmountable. You might feel that you don't recognise your partner/daughter/friend as the person you thought you knew. Very few people, without experience of psychosis, can comprehend the beliefs, behaviours and outcomes that are possible when the brain stops working as it should. A woman with postpartum psychosis isn’t in control of her thoughts and actions - she cannot be responsible for what she does whilst unwell with postpartum psychosis. Please do get in touch with APP for a chat if this would help - we can explain more about PP. Many of the remarkable, recovered and capable women in our community can describe near misses and know that it is only by good fortune and good care, that this was not their story.

You may also be worried about other people’s reactions - what they will say or think when they find out about the tragedy of an infant’s loss. Unfortunately, there is still a great deal of stigma and misinformation, and you might need to educate each person you come across from scratch. Try to remember that you are not on your own. APP’s community of staff and lived experience volunteers is here to listen and provide support. We can answer questions you might have about PP and talk about how to challenge other people’s reactions or misunderstandings about the illness. It might help to point people you know to our website, which can explain more about PP and its impacts.

I wasn’t aware of postpartum psychosis prior to this (even after having two children), which didn’t make sense to me. Surely all pregnant women and their partners should be informed about it and told to know the signs to look for?! If we had known more about PP then maybe this tragedy could have been somehow avoided? I had been really worried about my wonderful friend after the birth of her baby but could never have envisaged this happening. There is very little information out there to relate to and even PP support groups felt alien to us in this situation, as they were mostly focused on recovery.

One thing that became apparent was the amount of love and support that surrounded our friends through their loss, and I think this was ultimately what kept them going, even though the bleakest of moments. Hope for the future has been difficult at times, but it feels now like it exists and hopefully with continued support they will still be able to have a fulfilled and valuable life, despite this tragedy.

APP is extremely lovely and helpful. They have so much knowledge and are doing some incredible work to try and raise awareness and change the stigma surrounding postpartum mental health, which I think is vital.

Getting legal support

In UK law, it has long been recognised that some women, who are normally safe and protective mothers, suffer temporary mental illness in the postpartum period. The Infanticide Act is a defence in UK law. Police, legal professionals and the courts should be aware of this and treat mothers with compassion and understanding. However, this is not always the case, and some families might find themselves struggling to be heard. APP can help provide information for legal teams on PP and can help direct you to clinical experts in PP.

You can contact the Law Society for help finding the right legal representation.

The Perinatal Legal Project is a group of barristers, solicitors, academics and mental health professionals with an interest in the law as it applies to women during pregnancy and post-birth. The group can help refer you to experts and legal professionals. Email: perinatallegalproject@outlook.com.

This report from the Cambridge pro bono project is useful for legal teams and looks at inconsistencies in the application of the infanticide act. Some cases are thrown out at the CPS stage and do not go to court; some women are tried under the infanticide act with different outcomes; in some cases, the infanticide act is not applied. It is important to note that this document covers all causes of infanticide, not just postpartum psychosis - other causes (for example infanticides caused by concealed pregnancies in very young mums) have different risk factors and outcomes.

The most appropriate place for recovery from PP to take place is in a psychiatric hospital setting. Once women have recovered from the symptoms of PP, they do not pose any greater risks than anyone else in the population.

Coping with the future

Whilst currently there are no networks internationally that we know of for women or families with PP who have lost babies or children, you will always be welcomed as an integral part of the APP community. We will not judge or treat you differently. You are welcome to all our community events.

Living life after such a bereavement is hard and will take work. Staying safe and building a life around grief and a good PP understanding is paramount. Strong support networks from families and friends all make a difference.

If you are considering further pregnancies, you can read our guide here. There is around a 50% chance of PP happening again, but you, your family and health professionals will put plans in place to manage symptoms early and keep you and your baby safe if PP does return.

Supportive organisations