In the United States, the prevalence of smoking in pregnant women has declined; however, according to data gathered from 29 states by the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), about 13% of women smoked during the last 3 months of pregnancy. The prevalence varied according to state, with the highest rates reported in West […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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). 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 […]
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 […]
We have an abundance of articles which address the impact of psychotropic medications on pregnancy. 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. These pharmacokinetic changes may result in lower […]
A light week. Untreated perinatal paternal depression: Effects on offspring. Gentile S, Fusco ML.Psychiatry Res. 2017 Jun;252:325-332. Review. Untreated perinatal paternal depression negatively affects child development. Family-centred approaches may improve the effectiveness of perinatal mental health programs. Reduction of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) in patients with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Yamada K, Kamagata E. Qual […]
We have long been interested in understanding the effects of prenatal exposure to antidepressants on the development of the fetal brain. The earliest studies addressing this question were small but yielded detailed (and reassuring) information regarding the cognitive development of children exposed to antidepressants in utero. The findings of these studies supported the hypothesis that […]
There a few new articles on the impact of antidepressant use during pregnancy. Viktorin and colleagues demonstrated no increase in risk for intellectual disability in children with prenatal exposure to antidepressants. Rai and colleagues demonstrated a small increase in risk of autism (without intellectual disability) in children exposed prenatally to antidepressants. We will be covering […]
