All mothers (n = 79) in the county of Stockholm who gave birth to a child during 1976-77 and were also hospitalised for the first time in a psychiatric clinic were followed up after a mean interval of 15 years. The sample was classified according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria. Comparisons were made with matched obstetric controls. Five patients had died. The recurrence rate was 51% and 7. 3% relapsed after a subsequent childbirth. No difference was found between psychotic and non-psychotic mothers regarding mean sick-leave days per year. The majority of the women with a depressive disorder at index admission suffered from a minor depressive disorder. The women in the group with an unspecified functional psychosis showed a less severe course of illness than the women in the schizophrenia group.