We are pleased to report that our recent study examining the relationship between perinatal sleep disruption and postpartum mood episodes in women with bipolar disorder has been published in the Journal of Affective Disorders. We found that independent of the use of mood stabilising medication in the postpartum period, women who reported missing at least one complete night of sleep in relation to the birth of their baby were at over five times the odds of experiencing postpartum psychosis compared to women who reported missing no or less than one complete night of sleep. Interestingly, we found no significant relationship between any of the perinatal sleep factors we assessed and the occurrence of postpartum depression in our sample, potentially suggesting a specific relationship between sleep loss and postpartum mania/psychosis. Our findings could have important clinical implications for risk prediction and prevention of postpartum psychosis. We would like to thank all the women who so kindly participated and contributed to this research.
