Subscribe to RSS
DOI: 10.1055/s-0034-1386814
Psychiatric pharmacotherapy during pregnancy and lactation: The obstetrical point of view
Counselling and treating a woman with psychiatric disease during pregnancy and lactation is an interdisciplinary challenge. Obstetricians specialised in prenatal diagnosis and perinatal medicine can contribute to optimize medical care for mother and child. The majority of psychotropic medication administered to pregnant or breast-feeding patients can be regarded as safe. However, any therapy includes risks of adverse effects like teratogenicity, miscarriage, low birth weight, pregnancy complications, preterm birth, neonatal toxicity and childhood developmental or behavioural effects. There are several methods to monitor the pregnancy. Whereas differentiated prenatal ultrasound should be offered to every patient, invasive methods like amniocentesis or fetal blood sampling carry the risk of fetal loss and should be restricted to cases with a relevant risk of fetal disease. Aiming at improving pregnancy outcomes in psychiatric patients requires close cooperation of specialists in perinatal, psychiatric and neonatal medicine.