A woman 4 weeks postpartum tells her nurse that she is "not able to cope with her baby crying all the time and that all she can think of is getting out of her home." She further states that her family is "going to kill me if I doesn't take this baby where I found her." What is the medical term for this mood disorder?

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The woman's symptoms suggest postpartum psychosis, a severe mental illness characterized by extreme difficulty in responding emotionally to the newborn baby, possibly including delusional thinking and irrational statements, as indicated by her saying her family is "going to kill me if I doesn't take this baby where I found her." This condition goes beyond the more common and less severe postpartum depression and blues, presenting a more serious risk to both the mother and the child.

A Woman 4 Weeks Postpartum Tells Her Nurse That She