The book offers a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of key issues in perinatal mental health. Classic topics such as screening, assessment, pharmacological, psychological and psychosocial interventions of the most common conditions (depression, anxiety disorders, etc.) are combined with lesser known issues, such as mother-infant relationship disorders or thoughts of infant-related harm and aggressive behaviors, sleep disturbances in puerperium, obsessional disorders, fetal death etc., paying particular attention to specific groups of perinatal patients like mothers with cancer, adolescents, fathers, migrants, and preterm babies.  The chapters written by health professionals working in hospitals, community services or voluntary agencies alternate with contributions from researchers whose fields of expertise include biology and neuroscience, diagnosis and special needs, treatment and prognosis, etc., striking a balance between scientific investigation and clinical practice.The book offers a valuable tool for a wide range of professionals like psychiatrists, psychologists, gynecologists, midwives, oncologists, pediatricians, and social workers, who want to improve their clinical practice and the effectiveness of their treatment pathways using evidence from perinatal health research.

Part 1: Perinatal Psychopathology, beyond postpartum depression: Depression in Pregnancy: Molecular, Clinical and Psychosocial Effects. Depression and postpartum period. Bipolar disorders. Anxiety disorders. Obsessive-compulsive disorders. Thoughts of harm and OCD. Sleep disorders and peripartum. Eating disorders in pregnancy and post partum period. Puerperal psychosis. Personality disorders in perinatal period. Trauma, Stress & Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during childbearing years. Maternal suicide and filicide. Perinatal disorders in fathers. The mother-infant bonding disorders

Part 2: Prevention, risk detection and treatment: Ten years of outpatient activity with perinatal disorders: an Italian experience.. Screening during perinatal period: "Salvagente mamma", ATS Bergamo. Psychotropic drugs in pregnancy and breastfeeding. Drugs in pregnancy and postpartum. The influence of culture on perinatal mental health. Prevention and treatment of perinatal mentaldisorders in migrant women. Prevention and treatment in peripartum: the Multicentric Observatory for perinatal depression, Policlinico Tor Vergata. "Oramamma": a volunteer association for maternal mental health. A Perinatal Mental Health Service in Japan. Mother and baby unit at the Bethlem Royal Hospital. A day hospital service for mothers and babies: Barcelona as a model for southern Europe. Mother-infant inpatient units in France
Part 3: Research and peripartum: Research topics in perinatal mental health: the state of the art. Biomarkers, between  diagnosis and prognosis. Stress and attachment in postpartum psychosis. Domestic violence and perinatal mental health. Adolescence, reflective functioning, maternal attachment, mind-mindedness and emotional availability. Preterm infants, early relationship and bodily self. Cancer and peripartum: psychological aspects and mother-infant relationship.