Mental health of parents caring for infants.

The postpartum period is a sensitive time due to the presence and demands of the developing infant. The care provided by a mother to her infant during this period may be compromised if she is suffering from postnatal depression or postpartum psychosis. Evidence has been emerging which suggests that postnatal depression and postpartum psychoses have adverse effects on the quality of the mother-infant relationship and also on the infant's subsequent cognitive and emotional development. Presented is a review of the literature relating to how these conditions impact on parenting and infant outcomes, what measures are in place to detect these conditions and evidence-based models of best clinical practice are proposed.