20 years on: the legacy of Daksha Emson for perinatal psychiatry (29 June 2021)

Summary

This article examines the lasting impact of the tragic case of Daksha Emson, a 34-year old psychiatrist who took her own life and that of her baby daughter in an episode of postpartum psychosis. Daksha had a history of bipolar disorder and had attempted suicide before, and the inquiry into her death found that she received “significantly poorer standard of care than that which her own patients might have expected.”

The authors highlight the impact of her story on the development in the UK of both specialist perinatal mental health services and specialised confidential services for health professionals, which remove some of the stigma attached to help-seeking.