Antepartum Psychosis in the Setting of Preeclampsia With Severe Features: A Case Report

Abstract

The peripartum period, which can be further delineated into postpartum and antepartum periods, poses a heightened risk for psychiatric symptoms. While much is known about the risk of psychiatric symptoms in the postpartum period, antepartum psychosis remains exceedingly rare and poorly understood. This report presents a unique case of a 34-year-old pregnant woman with a past psychiatric history significant for recurrent major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and substance use disorder of alcohol and marijuana, who developed preeclampsia with severe features and acute psychosis during the antepartum period. We explore the contributing factors to her presentation and discuss how each might have played a role in her symptoms. Although research exists on the connection between mood disorders and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, studies that address the relationship between psychosis and hypertensive pregnancies are limited. Overall, the potential link between hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and peripartum psychosis has limited research and warrants further study.

Keywords: antepartum psychosis; perinatal mental illness; preeclampsia; substance use disorder; women's mental health.