There are strong parallels between the clinical management of bipolar disorder and epilepsy, and women with these disorders face significant challenges while pregnant or planning to conceive. In this setting, treatment decisions must balance the risks of recurrence of severe illness with the risks of potential harm to the fetus when certain medicines are taken [...]
Tag Archives: Bipolar Disorder
Anticonvulsant Use in Pregnancy and Nursing: Differences in Recommendations from Psychiatrists vs. Neurologists
February 3, 2010 – 11:39 am
Case: Prevention of Mood Episodes When Planning for Pregnancy
March 2, 2009 – 10:07 am
Our Perinatal and Reproductive Psychiatry team often discusses clinical cases in Rounds, a confidential forum in which we can get advice and consultation from peers who also work in the area of Women’s Mental Health. We discussed a patient’s situation recently that highlighted the controversial area about how to prevent mood episodes in a woman [...]
Bipolar Disorder and PMS
December 15, 2008 – 11:02 am
Premenstrual worsening of mood is common among women with depression, but little is known about how often women with bipolar disorder experience worsening of their mood premenstrually. In a study by Payne et al. (2007), premenstrual symptoms were reported by twice as many women diagnosed with mood disorders (mixture of Bipolar Disorder and Major Depressive [...]
Dr. Lee Cohen talks with Dr. Oz about Pregnancy and Mood Disorders on Oprah.com
December 8, 2008 – 10:54 am
Earlier this year, Dr. Lee S. Cohen, Director of the MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health, spoke with Dr. Mehmet Oz from Oprah.com and a woman with bipolar disorder about mood disorders during pregnancy and weighing the risks of treatment options.
Click here to listen to the interview on Oprah.com.
New England Journal of Medicine Case Report: Postpartum Psychosis in a Woman with Bipolar Disorder
August 11, 2008 – 9:51 am
The most recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine includes the presentation of a case from the Center for Women’s Mental Health of a woman with bipolar disorder who developed postpartum psychosis after the birth of her child. The case highlights some of the clinical challenges in treating patients with bipolar disorder [...]
Bipolar Disorder and Pregnancy: Should Medications Be Discontinued?
March 7, 2008 – 2:44 pm
As many of the traditional mood stabilizers used to treat bipolar disorder, including lithium and valproic acid, carry some teratogenic risk and the reproductive safety of other medications, including the atypical antipsychotic agents, has not been well-characterized, many women with bipolar disorder decide to discontinue their treatment during pregnancy. A new study from Dr. Adele [...]
Research Study at CWMH: Bipolar Disorder in Pregnancy
January 7, 2008 – 10:06 am
Are you an expectant mother? Do you have questions about bipolar disorder and antidepressants or mood-stabilizers during pregnancy? If you are pregnant and diagnosed with bipolar disorder (or manic depression), you may be eligible for this research study. Participants meet with research coordinators and psychiatrists who specialize in bipolar illness during pregnancy. For more information [...]
Menstrual Cycle Irregularity in Women with Bipolar Disorder
April 24, 2006 – 3:09 pm
Preliminary reports have suggested that menstrual irregularity may occur more commonly in women with mood disorders than in the general population. What has been unclear, however, is whether these menstrual cycle irregularities reflect an underlying disruption of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis in women with mood disorders or are caused by the psychotropic medications used to [...]
Anticonvulsants During Pregnancy in Women with Bipolar Disorder
October 6, 2002 – 4:00 pm
Unfortunately the mood stabilizers most commonly used to treat bipolar disorder (including lithium and valproic acid) can increase the risk of certain types of congenital malformations in children exposed [...]
Bipolar Disorder and Pregnancy
January 6, 2001 – 10:53 am
Unfortunately the mood stabilizers most commonly used to treat bipolar disorder (including lithium and valproic acid) can increase the risk of certain types of birth defects or congenital malformations [...]
