RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Risk of stillbirth and neonatal death linked with maternal mental illness: a national cohort study JF Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition JO Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health SP F105 OP F110 DO 10.1136/adc.2007.135459 VO 94 IS 2 A1 S King-Hele A1 R T Webb A1 P B Mortensen A1 L Appleby A1 A Pickles A1 K M Abel YR 2009 UL http://fn.bmj.com/content/94/2/F105.abstract AB Background: Babies of mothers with psychotic disorders are known to have higher rates of poor obstetric outcome, including higher mortality rates.Objective: To estimate risks of stillbirth and neonatal death by specific causes in babies of mothers with histories of severe mental illness, relative to the general population.Methods: A cohort of 1.45 million live births and 7021 stillbirths during 1973–98 was identified from Danish national registers. These registers were linked to identify babies who were stillborn or died neonatally after exposure to maternal psychiatric illness.Results: Risks of stillbirth and neonatal death were raised for virtually all causes of death for all of the maternal psychiatric diagnostic categories. For most causes of death, offspring of women with schizophrenia and related disorders had no greater risks of stillbirth or neonatal death than offspring of women with other maternal psychiatric disorders (eg, neonatal death (NND) due to immaturity: relative risks (95% CI) schizophrenia and related disorders: 1.1 (0.4 to 3.5), affective disorders: 2.0 (1.2 to 3.5)). There was a greater risk of fatal congenital malformation associated with a history of maternal affective disorder (stillbirth 2.4 (1.1 to 5.1), NND 2.1 (1.4 to 3.3)) or schizophrenia and related disorders (stillbirth 2.4 (0.8 to 7.6), NND 2.2 (1.1 to 4.1)) than with maternal alcohol/drug-related disorders (stillbirth 1.2 (0.4 to 3.8), NND 1.1 (0.6 to 2.2)).Conclusions: Higher risk of perinatal loss may be linked to factors associated with maternal psychiatric illness in general, such as insufficient attendance for antenatal care and unhealthy lifestyles rather than the maternal mental illness itself.