OBJECTIVES: Suicide is the leading cause of maternal mortality in high-resource countries. The onset of suicidal ideation is a major risk factor for suicide attempts. Suicidality has a major impact on the mother-baby relationship and on child development. The main objective of the study was to identify factors associated with the occurrence of perinatal suicidal ideation in women requiring hospitalization. The secondary objectives of the study were to describe the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of this specific population, to specify the follow-up procedures at hospital discharge and to develop a semi-directed interview framework for psychiatric evaluation of perinatal patients admitted to a psychiatric hospital in order to better identify those at risk of suicide and improve overall management, particularly in terms of referral to existing perinatal care services.
METHODS: Descriptive and retrospective study carried out at the Specialized Hospital Center of women hospitalized in the perinatal period between 2014 and 2019. The inclusion criteria were: inpatient pregnant or postpartum within one year of delivery, 16 to 43 years. A keyword search was performed to retrieve the computerized records. All records matching the inclusion criteria were included. We studied the occurrence of suicidal ideation according to the main known clinical and socio-demographic risk factors.
RESULTS: The sample included 25 pregnant patients and 57 post-partum patients. The presence of a psychiatric history increased the risk of suicidal ideation by 4.38 (P<0.03). The association between the occurrence of a stressful life event and the risk of suicidal ideation onset was close to significant (P<0.10). One third of the patients had been admitted for a reason related to suicidality. Less than one-third of the patients had been referred to existing perinatal services.
CONCLUSIONS: Suicidality in the perinatal period has a major impact on the dyad as well as on the whole family. The search for suicidal ideas must be systematic during psychiatric interviews, a fortiori when a psychiatric history has been authenticated. Every patient hospitalized in adult psychiatry should be referred to specialized outpatient perinatal psychiatry services. Prevention involves raising awareness and training of all health professionals, networking, but also informing the general public.