Recent Posts

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, here is another post about the use of marijuana during pregnancy.  There are several reasons we keep coming back to this issue. There has been a significant increase in the use of marijuana among women of reproductive age, and this trend is likely to continue as more states legalize recreational marijuana.  While information regarding the reproductive safety of marijuana is limited, the research we do have...

While about 5% of women have premenstrual dysphoric disorder, we more commonly see women who experience premenstrual exacerbation of mood and anxiety disorders.  A small study of 15 women with borderline personality disorder (who were not taking psychotropic medications or hormonal contraceptives) suggests that most symptoms attributable to borderline personality disorder significantly worsened in the week before and during the first week of  menstruation. (This is somewhat delayed from what is typically observed in patient...

Each week, we take a quick look at the most recent articles published in women's mental health.     Obstetrical and neonatal outcomes after benzodiazepine exposure during pregnancy: Results from a prospective registry of women with psychiatric disorders. Freeman MP, et al.  Gen Hosp Psychiatry, May 2018. Infants exposed to benzodiazepines during pregnancy had an increased risk of NICU admissions and small head circumferences. Confounding from psychiatric symptoms and other variables cannot be ruled out...

In 2015, we first reported on SAGE-547 (SAGE Therapeutics), a new medication for the treatment of severe postpartum depression (PPD).  SAGE-547, now called brexanolone, is an allosteric modulator of GABAA receptors.  This drug was initially under investigation for the treatment of refractory seizure disorders but it turned out to be a good antidepressant.   Sage Therapeutic’'s Hummingbird Phase 3 Program consisted of two phase 3 randomized, placebo-controlled trials to evaluate the efficacy, safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics...

It’s been a while since we posted a weekly roundup.  Now that the new website is up, we are back on track.  In one of the few studies assessing the physical and cognitive development of infants exposed to psychotropic medications in breast milk, Kronenfeld and colleagues observed normal growth and development in exposed infants.  In a study from Park et al, use of certain atypical antipsychotic agents (quetiapine and olanzapine) during pregnancy was associated with...

A history of maternal psychiatric illness has been linked to postpartum depression (PPD), but this does not account for all instances of postpartum psychiatric illness. A recent study examined the impact of medical complications during pregnancy and/or childbirth on PPD and postpartum acute stress reactions (i.e., symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder that last less than one month) in women with no history of perinatal or non-perinatal mood disorders. Using the Danish Civil Registration System and...