Phenomenology of Postpartum Psychosis: Preliminary Findings from MGHP3
The MGHP3 study provides key insights into the onset, duration, treatment, and characteristics of postpartum psychosis in a large, diverse cohort.
Essential Reads: Lithium and Breastfeeding (2024)
Because women with bipolar disorder are at high risk for relapse during the postpartum period, we typically recommend that women continue treatment with lithium throughout the postpartum period. While this intervention clearly decreases risk for postpartum psychiatric illness, the use of lithium while breastfeeding presents certain challenges. Â
In Women with Bipolar Disorder, Loss of Sleep Related to Childbirth Increases Risk for Postpartum Psychosis
Loss of at least one night’s sleep at the time of labor and delivery is a potent risk factor for postpartum psychosis in women with bipolar disorder.
Essential Reads: Postpartum Depression, Is it Unipolar or Bipolar?
Vigilance is required in screening women who present with postpartum depression; a subset of women who screen positive for depression may actually have bipolar disorder.
Postpartum Psychosis: Identifying Population-Level Risk FactorsÂ
Women with medical, psychiatric, and obstetric risk factors should be closely followed within pregnancy and the postpartum.
More Data on Pregnancy Outcomes Associated with Lithium Use During Pregnancy
Lithium use during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of preterm birth and large for gestational age infants.
New Research at the Center for Women’s Mental Health: The MGH Postpartum Psychosis Project
Although the last decade has brought increased awareness of and interest in postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, our understanding of the etiology of this most severe form of postpartum mental illness remains elusive.
Prenatal Lithium Exposure: Neuroimaging Yields Reassuring Results
Functional MRI revealed no differences in brain structure of white matter integrity in lithium-exposed versus non-lithium-exposed children born to mothers with bipolar spectrum disorder.
Long-term behavioral follow-up of children exposed to mood stabilizers and antidepressants: A look forward – ObGynNews
Dr. Lee S. Cohen, Director of the Ammon-Pinizzotto Center for Women's Mental Health at Massachusetts General Hospital, recently shared his insights on the long-term behavioral follow-up of children exposed to mood stabilizers and antidepressants with Ob.Gyn News on August 16,
Prevalence of Bipolar Disorder and Bipolar-Spectrum Mood Episodes During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period in Perinatal Women
A recent review and meta-analysis found that upwards of 20% of women with no history of psychiatric illness experience their first bipolar-spectrum mood episode during the perinatal period.