Conclusion
Bipolar depression is common after childbirth. There is preliminary evidence that bipolar depression may be as common as unipolar depression among women referred for PPD to tertiary care centres. Due to the lack of routine screening, women with bipolar disorder are often misdiagnosed as having major depressive disorder. The misdiagnosis and mismanagement of bipolar disorder as unipolar depression can have deleterious, and at times deadly, consequences [14]. According bipolar depression a higher diagnostic status than unipolar postpartum would likely facilitate timely identification and accurate diagnosis of bipolar disorder. A hierarchical approach to diagnosis might also improve the treatment of PPD by helping to identify subgroups of women based on the underlying psychiatric diagnosis. It is also hoped that the increased awareness of bipolar PPD among clinicians and the public would accelerate research on this topic, including its prevalence in both clinical and non-clinical settings, as well as its psychotherapeutic and pharmacological treatment.
