Biomaterial Database

Predictors of social services supervision of babies of mothers with mental illness after admission to a psychiatric mother and baby unit. 2003

Louise Howard, and Nisha Shah, and Margaret Salmon, and Louis Appleby

Health Services Research Dept., Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK.

BACKGROUND There is insufficient information on the predictors of parenting difficulties in mothers with severe mental illness. Using data from mother and baby units in the UK we aimed to examine the social and clinical characteristics of mothers whose babies were supervised by social services on discharge. METHODS A case-control study was carried out using data from mother and baby units and facilities entered onto the Marce database. RESULTS Of 1197 mothers, 23% were discharged with their babies under some form of social services supervision. Factors independently associated with an increased risk of supervision included social class (OR 3.16, 95% CI 1.99-5.03), single marital status (OR 2.10, 95% CI 1.38-3.20), behavioural disturbance (OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.08-2.65) and psychiatric illness in the partner (OR 2.67, 95% CI 1.59-4.49). The diagnostic groups independently associated with the highest risk of having a supervised baby were schizophrenia (OR 5.16, 95% CI 2.61-10.21) and personality disorder (OR 9.29, 95% CI 3.46-24.91). CONCLUSIONS Mothers with schizophrenia are at particularly high risk of having their baby supervised by social services. Preventative interventions should be targeted at socio-economic difficulties, early detection of psychiatric disorders postpartum and treatment of perinatal mental illness in the context of the whole family.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D009035	Mothers	Female parents, human or animal.	Mothers' Clubs,Club, Mothers',Clubs, Mothers',Mother,Mother Clubs,Mother's Clubs,Mothers Clubs,Mothers' Club
D010343	Patient Admission	The process of accepting patients. The concept includes patients accepted for medical and nursing care in a hospital or other health care institution.	Voluntary Admission,Admission, Patient,Admission, Voluntary,Admissions, Patient,Admissions, Voluntary,Patient Admissions,Voluntary Admissions
D011446	Prospective Studies	Observation of a population for a sufficient number of persons over a sufficient number of years to generate incidence or mortality rates subsequent to the selection of the study group.	Prospective Study,Studies, Prospective,Study, Prospective
D011567	Psychiatric Department, Hospital	Hospital department responsible for the organization and administration of psychiatric services.	Hospital Psychiatric Department,Psychiatric Departments, Hospital,Department, Hospital Psychiatric,Departments, Hospital Psychiatric,Hospital Psychiatric Departments
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328	Adult	A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available.	Adults
D001523	Mental Disorders	Psychiatric illness or diseases manifested by breakdowns in the adaptational process expressed primarily as abnormalities of thought, feeling, and behavior producing either distress or impairment of function.	Mental Illness,Psychiatric Diseases,Psychiatric Disorders,Psychiatric Illness,Behavior Disorders,Diagnosis, Psychiatric,Mental Disorders, Severe,Psychiatric Diagnosis,Illness, Mental,Mental Disorder,Mental Disorder, Severe,Mental Illnesses,Psychiatric Disease,Psychiatric Disorder,Psychiatric Illnesses,Severe Mental Disorder,Severe Mental Disorders
D012947	Social Work	The use of community resources, individual case work, or group work to promote the adaptive capacities of individuals in relation to their social and economic environments. It includes social service agencies.	Service, Social,Social Intervention,Social Service,Social Service Intervention,Social Work Intervention,Intervention, Social,Intervention, Social Service,Intervention, Social Work,Interventions, Social Work,Service Intervention, Social,Services, Social,Social Interventions,Social Service Interventions,Social Services,Social Work Interventions,Work Intervention, Social