Psychotropic Medication Use During Pregnancy: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Few studies on the adverse effects of prenatal psychotropics have included patients with serious psychiatric illness. The current investigators retrospectively evaluated prenatal psychotropic use and neonatal outcomes in 1071 women with major psychiatric disorders who were hospitalized postpartum in specialized units with their newborns in France between 2001 and 2010.

Data included maternal interviews and birth records, but not dosages and blood levels. Forty percent of women received psychotropics during pregnancy. Analyses compared the 40% of women who received psychotropics with nonrecipients and controlled for multiple variables, including those more frequent among psychotropic recipients (smoking, lower education, and multiparity).

Risk…