Historical hospital records can show us what not to do in helping psychosis patients
Looking at historical health-care records can reveal how misunderstanding of a medical condition first came to develop and why it may not be being treated properly.
Conditions such as postnatal psychosis – a serious mental illness affecting new mums – often incorrectly results in the woman being admitted to a general hospital or mental health facility rather than a specialist mother and baby unit. The women are mistakenly admitted because early signs are not recognised and the condition is not diagnosed until it has reached its most extreme form.
Greater awareness of postnatal psychosis could lead to earlier treatment and faster recovery, possibly without hospitalisation.
Current statistics tell us postnatal psychosis affects one to two women in every 1,000 after childbirth. That means every year more than 600 women and their babies experience its effects in Australia. Research into historical health-care records helps us understand how the lack of awareness of this condition developed.
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