Clinical characteristics and mental health outcomes for women admitted to an Australian Mother-Baby Unit: a focus on borderline personality disorder and emotional dysregulation?

Objective: To describe the clinical population of women admitted to a Mother-Baby Unit in Adelaide, South Australia and to evaluate changes during admission in both Axes I and II diagnoses of maternal mental health, and in mother-infant relationships.

Method: Both clinical and self-report assessments of maternal mental health were made at admission and discharge, and self-report comparisons of the mother-infant relationship.

Results: Depressive illnesses (46.