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Chapter 19 - Psychotropic Prescribing in Pregnancy and Lactation

from Part 3 - Specific Therapeutic Areas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 May 2020

By
Angelika Wieck  and
Ian Jones
Edited by
Peter M. Haddad  and
David J. Nutt
Peter M. Haddad
Affiliation:
Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar
David J. Nutt
Affiliation:
Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology, Division of Psychiatry, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London
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Summary

The decision to prescribe psychotropic medication is always a matter of weighing up potential risks and benefits but at no time is this more difficult than in pregnancy and the post-partum period. This is because the risks do not only relate to the side-effects for the mother but also potential adverse outcomes for the pregnancy and the child who may be particularly vulnerable during fetal development and breastfeeding. In addition, there is often a degree of uncertainty about what added risks medication may bring compared with no treatment.

Type
Chapter
Information
Seminars in Clinical Psychopharmacology , pp. 577 - 598
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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