
The Importance of Managing Psychiatric Disorders During Pregnancy and Postpartum
Treating women of reproductive age who have depression can be difficult. Here’s an overview on the subject from the 2022 Annual Psychiatric Times™ World CME Conference.
CONFERENCE REPORTER
“We always want to make sure we weigh the risks of the untreated psychiatric disorder when we are considering treatments, especially medication exposures, for women of reproductive age,” said Marlene Freeman, MD, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
In her presentation, “Pregnancy and Postpartum Management of Psychiatric Disorders,” at the
“The risks of the untreated psychiatric disorders impact efficacy and outcomes as well as child development overall,” Freeman said.
Freeman also stated that the absolute risk of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) exposure in pregnancy is small, and reproductive safety data on SSRIs exceed what is known about many other medications used in pregnancy. Prevalence of SSRI use during pregnancy is 3% to 7%.2-7
Antidepressant Use and Risk
According to recent research, there is no evidence of increased risk for major malformations or cardiovascular malformations in the offspring of women who took SSRIs while pregnant.8
Another concern raised about SSRIs there is the potential increased risk of autism. Freeman shared that, through studies and meta-analyses, results have determined that SSRIs are associated with increased risk of autism, but not by cause and effect because you must factor in maternal psychiatric illness, which appears to be the driving factor.9
Treatment Recommendations for Postpartum Depression
Approximately 10% to 15% of women experience major depressive episodes post-delivery, and that number increases to 25% to 40% if the woman has a history of major depressive disorder.
“Postpartum depression has been called the most common obstetrical complication,” Freeman said.
Freeman had a number of tips for treating mothers with postpartum depression, including using the lowest effective doses of SSRIs, consulting with perinatal/reproductive psychiatry specialists as needed, and maximizing nonmedication treatments. These nonpharmacologic strategies are (1) maximized social supports, (2) psychoeducation of patient and family, (3) group therapy or support groups, (4) interpersonal therapy, and (5) cognitive behavioral therapy.10-12
Concluding Thoughts
“There are a lot of unknowns involved with pregnancy,” Freeman concluded. “We want to make sure that the treatment decisions we make are really collaborative with patients.”
To further support patients and their clinicians, Freeman referred to
References
1. Louik C, Lin AE, Werler MM, et al.
2. Einarson TR, Einarson A.
3. Einarson A, Pistelli A, DeSantis M, et al.
4. Alwan S, Reefhuis J, Rasmussen SA, et al.
5. Greene MF.
6. Hallberg P, Sjoblom V.
7. Wogelius P, Nørgaard M, Gislum M, et al.
8. Huybrechts KF, Palmsten K, Avorn J, et al.
9. Andrade C.
10. Cohen LS, Wang B, Nonacs R, et al.
11. Pearlstein T, Howard M, Salisbury A, Zlotnick C.
12. Branquinho M, de la Fe Rodriguez-Muñoz M, Maia BR, et al.
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