Ian Jones summarises a number of studies that consider the benefits and harms of antidepressants during pregnancy, including a recent cohort study that found that exposure to antidepressants in the womb is associated with a modest increased risk of speech and language disorders.
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Joanne Wallace considers a recent health technology assessment on the risks and benefits of psychotropic medication in pregnancy, which supports previous associations between valproate and adverse child outcomes.
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Olivia Maynard explores a recent systematic review that claims to be the first study to investigate systematically
the rates of restarting smoking after childbirth.
Katrina Witt reviews a new UK study, which finds that women who ended their own lives during the perinatal period were significantly more likely to have a recent onset of depression, and were less likely to be receiving active treatment, and particularly medication, at their time of their death.
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Olivia Maynard takes a sober look at the new Department of Health alcohol guidelines, which say it’s safest for both men and women to not regularly drink more than 14 units of alcohol per week.
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Michelle Gregory looks at an analysis of an archival dataset, which wet out to investigate differences in pregnancy and childbirth outcomes for mothers with and without learning disabilities.
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This study updates a previous meta-analysis adding 2 new studies and reassessing the findings. Overall, it suggests that the provision of periodontal treatment does not seem to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes, although there is a suggestion of benefit in high risk populations.
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Meg Fluharty examines the findings of a recent study, which looks at the risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) when mothers take antidepressants during pregnancy.
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This review of oral health promotion in pregnancy included 7 studies with the majority (5) focused on improving knowledge. The description of the interventions was generally vague and just one was based on a recognised health behaviour theory.
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Meg Fluharty highlights a recent study suggesting that financial incentives may be beneficial in helping pregnant women quit smoking. This recent study investigated the effectiveness of shopping vouchers in addition to NHS Stop Smoking Services to aid quit attempts in pregnant women.
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