Suicide is a known contributor to pregnancy and postpartum mortality and is now considered a direct cause of maternal death by the World Health Organisation. A systematic review of suicide related mortality and pregnancy in 21 LMIC countries found suicide related deaths from 0% in Vietnam to 23 % in Argentina. Prevalence of suicidality(ideas and attempts) during pregnancy ranges from 8% to 24% and risk factors include severity of depression, a past history of suicidal attempts, poverty and intimate partner violence. Untreated severe mental illness has been found to be an important cause based on the Confidential Enquiries for Maternal deaths in various countries. Death of the child or fetal death is also strongly associated. Assessment of suicide requires sensitive enquiry and/or the use of standard questions or tools. Infant harm maybe associated with suicide especially with severe mental illness. Prevention includes early detection and involvement of a team for active treatment.
Learning Objectives:
Objective 1: Describe the magnitude of the problem related to suicidality and self harm in the perinatal period including data from various Confidential Enquiries of Maternal Deaths from around the world;
Objective 2: Describe about various methods of assessing suicidality and the risk for self harm;
Objective 3: Discuss the social, individual and psychiatric factors related to self harm.
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