Sleep and Perinatal Psychiatric Disorders

This book provides an up-to-date overview of sleep disturbance in perinatal psychiatric disorders. There is accumulating scientific evidence that psychiatric illnesses, such as anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, can begin or recur during the peripartum period. However, the general lack of awareness of their common occurrence, coupled with an exclusive focus on screening for perinatal depression, may lead to their underdiagnosis or misdiagnosis. This book intends to create an awareness of the ubiquity of sleep loss and insomnia in the peripartum period and its potential role in the onset and exacerbation of various psychiatric disorders.

Divided into five sections, the book’s first section is a discussion of adverse pregnancy, delivery, and fetal outcomes of prenatal psychiatric disorders. Section II describes the effect of common peripartum psychiatric disorders—including mood and anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder—on sleep and vice versa. The three chapters of Section III deal with the screening, evaluation, diagnosis, and prevention of peripartum psychiatric disorders. Section IV focuses on the pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatment of peripartum insomnia and the effect of breastfeeding on maternal sleep. The concluding section discusses the importance of targeting sleep loss and insomnia in the treatment of various psychiatric disorders during and after pregnancy.

Sleep and Perinatal Psychiatric Disorders: A Comprehensive Guide for Clinicians and Researchers will be a valuable resource for clinicians of various backgrounds including psychiatrists, psychologists, primary care providers, internal medicine physicians, sleep medicine specialists, and obstetricians. Due to its focus on recent advances in research and new directions in the field, the book will also appeal to researchers.