This is the second part of a two part series on the use of antipsychotic medications during pregnancy. Read Part 1 here, which reviews data from the Australian antipsychotic registry.
Despite the use of the newer “atypical” antipsychotic agents to treat a spectrum of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, PTSD and other anxiety disorders, three is relatively little data on the reproductive safety of these newer atypical agents.
Since their introduction in the 1990s, atypical (second-generation) antipsychotics have replaced typical (first generation) antipsychotics as the first-line treatment for schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders. These drugs are widely used by reproductive age women across many other disease states including bipolar disorder, major depression and anxiety disorders as either primary or adjunctive treatments.
Atypical antipsychotic medications are commonly used for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Despite the increasing use of these medications in women of child-bearing age, there is still relatively little data regarding the reproductive safety and long-term neurodevelopmental effects of these medications. A recent study assessed the development of 76 infants with fetal exposure to atypical antipsychotics.
