New Study at the CWMH: Course of ADHD During Pregnancy and the Postpartum
 About 1.4 million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with ADHD, and about 60-80% of children diagnosed with ADHD will need to take their medication into adulthood. When girls diagnosed in childhood become reproductive-aged women, they face challenging decisions regarding how to proceed with their treatment when they are also family planning. There are different kinds of medication used to treat ADHD. Among the most commonly prescribed are methylphenidate [...]
Prescribing Psychotropic Medications with Opioids During Pregnancy May Increase Risk for Neonatal Withdrawal
 Illicit opioid use has steadily increased over the past decade, and this increase is most prominent in the 18–25 age group, which includes women of reproductive age (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2013). Paralleling this increase in illicit opiate use in this population has been a significant increase in the use of prescription opioids for pain management.  As a result of this increase in use and abuse of [...]
France Bans the Use of Valproic Acid in Some Women of Childbearing Age
There have long been concerns regarding the safety of the anticonvulsant valproate (Depakote) during pregnancy.  Back in 2009, the American Academy of Neurology and American Epilepsy Society recommended against the use of valproic acid in women of childbearing age because of the various risks associated with prenatal exposure.  Raising similar concerns in 2014, the European Medicine Agency (EMA)’s Pharmacovigilance and Risk Assessment Committee recommended restricting the use of valproic acid in [...]
Weekly Roundup for AUGUST 4, 2017: Recent Publications in Women’s Mental Health
This week brings some interesting reviews on the use of ECT during pregnancy (Thyen et al) and the impact of maternal PTSD on child outcomes (Cook et al). Â Also worth reading are two articles -- one from Byatt and colleagues, the other from Cook et al -- which look at the factors which either facilitate or impede help-seeking and access to care in women with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Electroconvulsive [...]
Announcing the MGH Perinatal Depression Scale at the App Store
We are very pleased to announce the release of the MGH Perinatal Depression Scale available free of charge on the App Store (https://appsto.re/us/-3X4jb.i). The MGHPDS smartphone app includes digital versions of perinatal depression screening tools including the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) as well as other instruments which measure relevant symptoms associated with peripartum psychiatric illness: sleep disturbance, anxiety and perceived stress. Those who download the app and who complete the [...]
Clinical Guidelines for Lithium Dosing During Pregnancy
We have an abundance of articles which address the impact of psychotropic medications on pregnancy. Â Much less research, however, has focused on how pregnancy may affect how these medications work. Physiologic changes take place during pregnancy which may affect the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination of medications. Â These pharmacokinetic changes may result in lower (or higher) psychotropic drug levels and, in some cases, loss of clinical effectiveness or increased risk of [...]