Essential Reads: Lithium and Pregnancy
While the use of lithium has been in decline over the last 20 years, lithium continues to be a useful and highly effective mood stabilizer for women with bipolar disorder, especially those with a history [...]
Essential Reads: How to Screen for Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Postpartum Women?
When obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) occurs during the postpartum period, women may experience typical OCD symptoms related to contamination and cleaning, catastrophic thoughts and checking, or symmetry and ordering. However, many women with postpartum OCD, as [...]
Essential Reads: Emerging Evidence of the Long-Term Effects of Cannabis on the Developing Brain
Despite decreasing rates of alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy, the use of cannabis use during pregnancy is on the rise. We are seeing an increasing number of women in our clinic who are using [...]
Essential Reads: Phenomenology, Epidemiology and Aetiology of Postpartum Psychosis: A Review
Postpartum psychosis affects 1 to 2 per 1000 women after childbirth. About 40% of women who experience postpartum psychosis do not have a history of psychiatric illness; however, women with bipolar disorder or a history [...]
Using the WHIPLASHED Mnemonic to Distinguish Unipolar from Bipolar Depression
Women with bipolar disorder (BD) are at extremely high risk for postpartum psychiatric illness, including postpartum psychosis. While the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology now recommends that all women be screened for depression [...]
Essential Reads: More Data on ADHD Medications and Pregnancy
Women with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often discontinue psychostimulant medications during pregnancy, especially if they have milder symptoms. While this approach makes sense in terms of limiting unnecessary exposures in women with what appears to [...]
Essential Reads: Is there a Role for Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Women at Risk for Perinatal Depression?
The omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are essential components of the human diet and have a broad range of health benefits. Furthermore, they may also be beneficial [...]
Postpartum Depression: Unipolar or Bipolar?
About 15% of women will experience postpartum depression after the birth of a child. While most of those women will have unipolar depression, a certain number of women will have bipolar depression. At this juncture, [...]
Essential Reads: SSRI Antidepressants Do Not Increase Risk of Miscarriage
Many women ask whether taking antidepressants may increase the risk for miscarriage or spontaneous abortion. Some, but not all, studies have demonstrated an increased risk of miscarriage among women who use antidepressants. However, it has [...]
Welcome 2021: Essential Reading List for January
Welcome to a New Year. We are looking forward to it. We hope you are enjoying a new feature on our website: ESSENTIAL READS. This is a kind of shortcut which allows you to [...]