Psychiatric Consultation in Childbirth Settings, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1988 Parent- and Child-Oriented Approaches

The primary purposes of this volume are: 1. To provide mental health practitioners with a current overview of our knowledge about normal parental development during pregnancy and its relation to fetal development, with particular emphasis on the impact of acute and chronic stress on these developmental processes. 2. To provide an understanding of the general state of the field of pregnancy and childbirth care both in conventional health systems and in alternative options. 3. To provide an understanding of models of consultation and liaison that are adapt­ ed to the special conditions of pregnancy and childbirth care, as contrasted to the more traditional modes that characterize these activities in medical and surgical hospitals. If there prove to be secondary gains as a result of pursuing these goals, so much the better. The most desirable of these would be a heightening of awareness of the mental health needs of "pregnant families" and of the risks they incur in transition from non­ parenthood to parenthood, and a more effective level of primary and secondary prevention of childhood mental disorders. These latter goals are more global and perhaps even a bit grandiose. Their attainment could only be documented through a series of carefully designed research projects aimed at measuring long-range developmental outcome in children and families who have experienced appropriate and early intervention during the pregnancy period.

I: Introduction and Background.- 1. Purpose and Rationale.- 2. A Brief History of the Relationship between Obstetrics and the Mental Health Professions.- 3. The Impact of Prenatal Stress on the Developing Fetus and Child.- 4. The Epidemiology of Mental and Emotional Disorders during Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period.- II: The Building Blocks.- 5. Developmental Tasks of Pregnancy and Transition to Parenthood: An Approach to Assessment.- 6. Emotional Disorders and Mental Illness Associated with Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period.- 7. Current Childbirth Options and Parental Decision Making.- III: Consultation Practice.- 8. Models of Consultation and Liaison: General Principles.- 9. Direct Case Consultation.- 10. Staff Education, Liaison, and Program Consultation.- 11. Psychiatric Services in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.- 12. Psychopharmacologic Agents and Electroconvulsive Therapy during Pregnancy and the Puerperium.- 13. The Effect of Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol and Other Drugs.- 14. Principles of Genetic Counseling for Psychiatric Liaisons.- IV: Areas of Special Concern.- 15. Variations.- 16. The Current Controversy in Childbirth Care: A Consultant’s Viewpoint.- 17. Professional Responsibility for the Welfare of Potential Life.- V: Summary and Conclusions.- 18. Conclusions and Future Directions.