Flo Martin summarises a recent umbrella review which finds that we still have limited knowledge about the safety of psychotropic drug use in pregnancy.
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Dean Connolly looks at an international study which asks: Is there consensus across evidence-based guidelines for the psychotropic drug management of bipolar disorder during the perinatal period?
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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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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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Nikki Newhouse summarises a recent US health technology assessment of antidepressants for depression in pregnancy and the postpartum period, which concludes that the evidence remains inconclusive about the benefits and harms of antidepressants for depression in pregnancy.
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Amy Green summarises a retrospective observational study that finds prenatal antidepressant exposure is associated with risk for ADHD, but not autistic spectrum disorders. She considers this complex topic and works out what it all means for pregnant women with depression.
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Amy Green summarises a population-based study of young children which looks at prenatal exposure to SSRI antidepressants and the social responsiveness symptoms of autism.
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Postpartum haemorrhages are serious birth complications that represent one of the leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity. While incidences of postpartum haemorrhages have risen steadily in the past decades (in the US alone, numbers increased from 2.3% to 2.9% from 1994 to 2006), there is little evidence as to why. Antidepressants – especially selective [read the full story…]
The prevalence of autistic spectrum disorders has risen dramatically in the last thirty years, with recent estimates suggesting that 1 in 88 children in the United States have an autistic spectrum disorder. This increasing prevalence could simply be due to changes in the diagnosis of such disorders and so be of little interest. However, there [read the full story…]
Studies have shown that the prevalence of depression in pregnant women is 7-19%. Being depressed during pregnancy can result in preterm delivery, which can in turn lead to illness and even death of the newborn child. Researchers have struggled to single out the causes of these risks. Is it the depression, the medical treatment being [read the full story…]
