Weekly Roundup for JULY 24, 2020: Recent Publications in Women’s Mental Health
Every week we review the most recent publications in women’s mental health, covering topics related to premenstrual symptoms, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, use of medications in pregnant and breastfeeding women, perinatal substance use, and menopausal mental health. A few reminders. We will continue to offer our Wednesday virtual rounds. You can sign up HERE. This is a great opportunity to discuss clinical issues with members of our center and other [...]
Clinical Update 2020: Lamotrigine (Lamictal) and Pregnancy
Clinical Update 2020:Â Lamotrigine (Lamictal) and Pregnancy Maintenance treatment with a mood stabilizer during pregnancy can significantly reduce the risk of relapse in women with bipolar disorder; however, many of the mood stabilizers commonly used in this setting, including lithium and valproic acid, carry some degree of teratogenic risk. In contrast, lamotrigine (Lamictal) appears to be a much safer option for use during pregnancy. Initial reports raised concerns about an [...]
Lee S. Cohen, MD Wins Prestigious Vivian Pinn Research Award
At the Women's Health 2020 conference in June, Lee Cohen, MD, the director of the MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health, was honored as the recipient of the prestigious Vivian Pinn Award for Outstanding Research in Women's Health and delivered the Vivian Pinn Research Keynote Lecture at the conference: Perinatal Psychiatry: Lessons Learned over Two Decades. Previous recipients of this award include Noel Bairey Merz, Linda Giudice, Nanette Santoro, Laura [...]
Ondansetron (Zofran) for Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy: Maybe Not for All Women
Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) affects up to 80% of women during the first trimester. A smaller proportion of women (0.3%–3.0%) experience severe vomiting or hyperemesis gravidarum. While milder cases of nausea and vomiting may resolve spontaneously or may respond to lifestyle and dietary changes, more severe forms of NVP may require treatment with medication. Prior to the introduction of ondansetron (marketed as Zofran), there were few options for [...]
Weekly Roundup for July 17, 2020: Recent Publications in Women’s Mental Health
Every week we review the most recent publications in women’s mental health, covering topics related to premenstrual symptoms, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, use of medications in pregnant and breastfeeding women, perinatal substance use, and menopausal mental health. An interesting article from Pop and colleagues analyzed data from the Netherlands and found that depression in pregnancy is on the rise, doubling from 7% in 1988-1989 to 14% in 2012-2014. The big [...]
Menopausal Depression is Common, Who Is at Risk?
Patients and clinicians may not be fully aware that women are at increased risk for depression during the menopausal transition. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that clinicians screen all adults for depression, highlighting the importance of screening in populations at particularly high risk for depression. While these recommendations have prompted increased awareness of psychiatric illness in pregnant and postpartum women; this level of vigilance does not exist [...]