Puerperal Psychosis care at Hospital Clínic

Clínic Barcelona provides specialised and urgent care for postpartum psychosis, with a multidisciplinary approach focused on safety, recovery and the mother–baby bond.

Assessment of new diagnoses

At the Clínic, new cases of postpartum psychosis are assessed urgently by specialist teams through different pathways:

• Psychiatric emergency services, following referral from obstetric services or primary care.
• During a postnatal hospital admission.
• Admission to the Mother and Baby Day Hospital (MBDH).

The initial assessment includes a comprehensive clinical evaluation, an assessment of risk to both the mother and the baby, and early initiation of treatment. In many cases, treatment takes place in hospital to ensure safety and support a rapid recovery.

The MBDH also provides assessment and treatment for women referred from emergency departments or inpatient units at other centres in Catalonia, helping to ensure continuity of care in a setting specialising in perinatal mental health.

BIPPSI follow-up programme

Women with perinatal bipolar disorder and/or a history of postpartum psychosis may receive care through the BIPPSI Programme, a dedicated programme within the Perinatal Mental Health Unit at Clínic Barcelona (PMHU CLINIC_BCN). The programme focuses on relapse prevention and specialist follow-up throughout the perinatal period. It provides intensive, long-term follow-up from pregnancy through to the baby's first year of life, with particular attention to periods of increased vulnerability.

What is care like at the Clínic?

Care for postpartum psychosis and perinatal bipolar disorder at the Perinatal Mental Health Unit at Clínic Barcelona (PMHU CLINIC_BCN) is based on a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach focused on the mother–baby dyad and the family environment.

Women enrolled in the BIPPSI Programme receive structured follow-up that includes:

• Regular clinical monitoring throughout pregnancy, childbirth and the baby's first year.
• Clinical and medication monitoring, with treatment individually tailored and adjusted as needed.
• Psychoeducation aimed at preventing relapse.
• Identification of early warning signs and prodromal symptoms.
• Development of an agreed birth and postnatal plan covering both obstetric care and mental health, in collaboration with the patient and her healthcare team.
• Support during the immediate postnatal period, with particular attention to rest, breastfeeding, caring for the baby and the mother–baby bond.
• Assessment of the child's neurodevelopment as part of a preventive and comprehensive approach.

The team includes specialists in perinatal psychiatry and psychology, advanced perinatal practice nursing (APN), and specialist obstetric care, with input from other professionals when required according to the clinical situation.

In particularly severe cases, the PMHU also offers additional care options, such as home-based mental health treatment and the Mother and Baby Day Hospital (MBDH).

Women who have not previously received care at Clínic and who require psychiatric hospital admission after childbirth can subsequently be referred to the MBDH to support their recovery and ensure continuity of care.