New units for perinatal mental health disorders: Description of the first 150 dyads attended at Mother Baby Day Hospital CLINIC-BCN

Abstract

Introduction

Perinatal Mental Disorders are considered a public health problem due to the impact on both, the maternal health and the children, in the short and long term. During 2018, at the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, the first Mother Baby Day Hospital (MBDH) in Spain was developed and implemented.

Method

The first 150 dyads (mother and baby) attended from January 2018 to October 2021 were selected. The sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were described. The clinical variables studied were anxious and depressive symptoms, mother–baby relationship and maternal functionality.

Results

The mean age of mothers was 34 years and of babies 3.7 months. 80% had a psychiatric background and 30.7% had required some psychiatric inpatient admission. 48.7% of the patients were diagnosed with a major depressive episode and a half had some psychiatric comorbidity (54.7%). One in 3 patients admitted had a moderate–high suicidal risk and 10.7% had attempted suicide in the current episode. At discharge, significant improvements were observed in the scales of depression (EPDS), anxiety (STAI-E), mother–baby relationship (PBQ) and functionality (HoNOS).

Conclusions

The MBDH allows us a comprehensive, intensive and multidisciplinary care for postpartum mothers with a mental disorder with good results and containment of risk behaviours. Likewise, MBDH allows us to detect and to intervene in bonding difficulties and maternal care giving.