Oates (62) investigated causes of death in women up to one year after giving birth in the UK and came to the conclusion that during the period, 1997-1999, suicide was the leading cause of death - responsible for 10% of all deaths. In 86% of the cases it was possible to make a psychiatric diagnosis, indicating that 68% of women who committed suicide were suffering from a serious mental illness (psychosis or severe depressive illness). Drife (63) observed similar results for the period, 2000-2002. Austin et al. (64) reporting for Australia, for the period 1994-2002, also found that.
