New Yorker Article on Postpartum Psychosis

In this week's New Yorker, March 20th, is this article:

https://www.newyorker.com/science/annals-of-medicine/what-we-still-dont-understand-about-postpartum-psychosis

She spent around eight weeks in the lockdown ward, moving between psychotic and catatonic episodes, and eventually recovered with the help of electroconvulsive therapy. After about three months in the hospital, van den Eijnden received nine months of outpatient treatment. She received home visits from a social worker to help her reacclimate to running a household—assistance with to-do lists, laundry, and the like. She also tapered off lithium, under a doctor’s supervision.

I read this article because of interest in the topic, but also suspecting that ECT would would be overlooked. But I was wrong: after many tales of inadequate treatment and tragic  outcomes, here was the story of a Dutch woman who got successful ECT. 

I will leave to blog readers how to interpret the following final paragraphs of this vignette.

ECT is clearly underutilized for postpartum depression and psychosis; both psychiatrists and Ob-Gyns need a more ECT-friendly attitude for treatment recommendations when peripartum illness is severe and life-threatening.