There are many issues – pharmaceutical treatment, antenatal care, early signs of a recurrence, the management of the puerperium, and the care and safety of the infant. It is important that the psychiatric team is notified as soon as the infant is born. Home treatment and hospitalization
It has been recognized since the 19th century that it is optimal for a woman with puerperal psychosis to be treated at home, where she can maintain her role as homemaker and mother to her other children, and develop her relationship with the new-born. But there are many risks, and it is essential that she is monitored by a competent adult round the clock, and visited frequently by professional staff. Home treatment is a counsel of perfection and most women will be admitted to a psychiatric hospital, many as an emergency, and usually without their babies. In a few countries, especially Australia, Belgium, France, India, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, special units allow the admission of both woman and infant. Conjoint admission has many advantages, but the risks to the infant of admission to a ward full of severely ill mothers should not be understated, and the high ratio of nursing staff, required to safeguard the infants, make these among the most expensive psychiatric units. Treatment of the acute episode
These mothers require sedation with anti-psychotic (neuroleptic) agents, but are liable to extrapyramidal symptoms, including the neuroleptic malignant syndrome.
In 1797, Osiander, an obstetrician from Tübingen, reported two cases at length – masterly descriptions which are among the treasures of medical literature. In 1819, Esquirol  conducted a survey of cases admitted to the Salpêtrière, and pioneered long-term studies. From that time, puerperal psychosis became widely known to the medical profession. In the next 200 years over 2,500 theses, articles and books were published. Among the outstanding contributions were Delays unique investigation using serial curettage  and Kendells record-linkage study comparing 8 trimesters before and 8 trimesters after the birth. In the last few years, two monographs reviewed over 2,400 works, with more than 4,000 cases of childbearing psychoses from the literature and a personal series of more than 320 cases. Research directions
The lack of a formal diagnosis in the DSM and ICD has hindered research. Research is needed to improve the care and treatment of affected mothers, but it is of paramount importance to investigate the causes, because this can lead to long term control and elimination of the disease. The opportunities come under the heading of clinical observation, the study of the acute episode, long-term studies, epidemiology, genetics and neuroscience. In a disorder with a strong genetic element and links to the reproductive process, costly imaging, molecular-genetic and neuroendocrinological investigations will be decisive. These depend on expert laboratory methods. It is important that the clinical study is also state-of-the-art– that scientists understand the complexity of these psychoses, and the need for multiple and reliable information sources to establish the diagnosis.