The Effect of Childbirth on the Prognosis of Married Schizophrenic Women

Abstract

The number of married schizophrenic women living at home may be expected to increase owing to the effectiveness of modern pharmacotherapeutic methods and the trend towards social rehabilitation. Hospital admissions will be limited to short periods, thus providing greater opportunity for the schizophrenic patient to become pregnant. As each additional attack of the illness may result in further deterioration, which will increase the mother's inability to care for her children, the relationship between the schizophrenic disease process and the stresses of pregnancy and childbirth needs investigation and evaluation. The practical clinical significance of this question is mainly relevant to married women suffering from schizophrenia of an acute onset or schizophrenia which follows a more benign course, which would allow them to function at home at various intervals.