When Mental Illness Complicates Pregnancy

More than half of women with severe mental illness become pregnant. To clarify the effects of antipsychotic medications on obstetric and neonatal outcomes, investigators conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 cohort studies including 6289 antipsychotic-exposed pregnancies and 1,618,039 unexposed pregnancies.

Adverse pregnancy outcomes were more common among women treated with antipsychotic medications than among women who did not require such medication. These included major malformations (absolute risk difference [ARD], 3%), preterm delivery (ARD, 5%), and small-for-gestational-age neonates (ARD, 5%). No difference was seen between typical and atypical antipsychotics.