Mood and anxiety disorders are very common during the perinatal period, with severe consequences not only for the mother but also for the child and the whole family. Recent research has shown how maternal stress, anxiety and depression can adversely influence a child's early and later development. It is therefore widely accepted that mental disorders in the perinatal period require special attention and uniquely modified treatments including pharmacological, nonpharmacological and psychotherapeutic approaches. In this volume, a group of internationally renowned experts review the most important topics of the field from both a clinical as well as a preclinical perspective - the history of psychiatry of motherhood, questions of classification of these disorders, the effects of chronic maternal stress on fetal development and a child's vulnerability to later psychiatric illness, the risk of perinatal infanticide and suicide and finally the most important forms and modifications of therapies for perinatal mental disorders including questions of pharmacotherapy during pregnancy and breast-feeding, the relevance of gonadal hormones, specific forms of psychotherapy as well as alternative treatment strategies for pregnant and breast-feeding women. In this book, clinicians and researchers from the fields of psychiatry, psychology, psychotherapy, neurobiology and psychoneuroendocrinology, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology as well as their students will find valuable information for their daily work.