[The hospitalization of a mother and her infant in an adult psychiatric department].

In this article, the authors tell of experiences of hospitalizing mothers together with their newborn children in the psychiatric ward for adults in a general hospital in the Paris region since October 1980. They studied 52 cases, 42 of which were related to post-natal depression. This study develops hypotheses leading up to its implementation, describes how it is set up, and specifies the goals of hospitalizing the two together: not automatically separating a child from its mother who develops a psychiatric condition at such a vulnerable age, observing how mother and child interact, evaluating the mother's nurturing skills and how the baby functions, taking therapeutic action for the mother and for the mother-child relationship, and allowing preventive action, a general prevention of mental illness. Over the years indication for this type of treatment was refined: keeping an infant close to it's sick mother cannot be a general rule and it should always be possible to reverse the decision. this is only used as an attempt at keeping the newborn with its mother in acute states and when support from the father or the extended family is available. Birthing and post-partum periods could be good ones for taking preventive action concerning the child. Early identification of an interactive disturbance before it comes out as a medical problem, finding new ways of acting and having a therapeutic effect.