Related Experiment Videos
[Psychopharmacotherapy during pregnancy and lactation. 1: Pregnancy]
M Lanczik1, M Knoche, J Fritze
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Birmingham, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, West Midlands, England.
Approximately one-third of all pregnant women take psychotropic drugs at least once during pregnancy. At the same time, there are no preparations on the market that can be considered entirely appropriate for expectant mothers. The effects of psychopharmacological therapies have exclusively been discussed in the context of their risk during the first trimester. However, treatment after this phase is not absolutely without risk, and it is striking that there are grave differences between various substances. There are currently controversial discussions going on in literature as far as the teratogenicity of lithium is concerned, especially during the formation of the heart. It is suggested that the risk for congenital malformations is increased after intrauterine lithium exposure, whereas such a risk cannot be proved for most of the antidepressants and neuroleptics. Still, it should be noted that psychopharmacology is not harmless even after the organogenesis, as intrauterine exposure during the 2nd and 3rd trimester can lead to postnatal complications. For example, floppy-infant syndrome after taking benzodiazepines, and the extrapyramidal-motor effects on the newborn after neuroleptic therapy during pregnancy should be mentioned.
Approximately one-third of all pregnant women take psychotropic drugs at least once during pregnancy. At the same time, there are no preparations on the market that can be considered entirely appropriate for expectant mothers. The effects of psychopharmacological therapies have exclusively been discussed in the context of their risk during the first trimester. However, treatment after this phase is not absolutely without risk, and it is striking that there are grave differences between various substances. There are currently controversial discussions going on in literature as far as the teratogenicity of lithium is concerned, especially during the formation of the heart. It is suggested that the risk for congenital malformations is increased after intrauterine lithium exposure, whereas such a risk cannot be proved for most of the antidepressants and neuroleptics. Still, it should be noted that psychopharmacology is not harmless even after the organogenesis, as intrauterine exposure during the 2nd and 3rd trimester can lead to postnatal complications. For example, floppy-infant syndrome after taking benzodiazepines, and the extrapyramidal-motor effects on the newborn after neuroleptic therapy during pregnancy should be mentioned.