A recent study examined the prevalence and risk factors for perinatal depression and anxiety in a group of Norwegian women with epilepsy (n = 706) compared to pregnancies in all women without epilepsy (n = 106,511).
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is relatively common among pregnant and postpartum women. The lifetime prevalence of PTSD for women is about 10%. PTSD is most prevalent among women of childbearing age and PTSD symptoms are common during pregnancy. Earlier this year, we reported on a study which observed that women with a diagnosis of PTSD had an increased risk of preterm birth. The risk was particularly high in those women with diagnoses of both PTSD and a major depressive episode; these women had a 4-fold increased risk of preterm birth.
Women with psychiatric disorders represent an at-risk population for premature delivery and other obstetrical complications. This study assesses the association between omega-3 fatty acid use and length of gestation. Â In an unadjusted model, there was [...]
With the advent of the newer, atypical antipsychotic medications, patients with psychotic disorders have been able to achieve greater symptom control with less disabling side effects. For women with schizophrenia, there has also been an increase in fertility rates over the last decade. Previous studies have suggested that women with schizophrenia, as compared to women with no psychiatric illness, are at increased risk for pregnancy and delivery complications, including low birthweight, intrauterine growth restriction, and preterm birth. However, most of these studies occurred at a time when the women were treated with older antipsychotic medications, and we cannot assume that these findings are relevant now, when women with schizophrenia are more commonly treated with the newer atypical antipsychotics and have much better control of their symptoms.
The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was modified by adding lifetime PND screening questions, assessing worst episode, and symptom timing of onset, in order to assess the lifetime prevalence of perinatal depression. Subjects from the [...]
We have received many emails and calls from colleagues and patients regarding the recent article on the safety of SSRI use during pregnancy published in the New York Times. In this article, health writer Roni Caryn Rabin, detailed the risks associated with the use of antidepressants during pregnancy.
A significant number of women experience anxiety symptoms during pregnancy, with nearly 10% of women meeting criteria for generalized anxiety disorder. Even more women suffer from milder anxiety symptoms or what some refer to as [...]
In this study 62 women hospitalized for high-risk obstetrical complications completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7), and Short-Form 12 (SF-12) weekly until delivery or discharge and once after [...]
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is relatively common among pregnant and postpartum women. The lifetime prevalence of PTSD for women is about 10%, with one-third of episodes lasting more than five years. Given the relatively high [...]
Pregnancy is a time of risk for women with histories of major depression. In a study where 201 women with histories of recurrent depression were followed prospectively through pregnancy, 43% experienced a relapse of major depression during pregnancy. Relapse rates were highest in the group of women who elected to discontinue antidepressant treatment proximate to conception (68% as compared to 26% in the group of women who maintained antidepressant treatment).
