Question

Introduction

If you are in practice for any amount of time, you will have a patient who either is pregnant or wants to become pregnant. When this happens, the patient and her family will have a lot of questions regarding taking psychiatric medications while pregnant. This discussion will address how safe it is to prescribe psychiatric medications during pregnancy.

Directions

In your initial post, please address the following, according to your birth month.

Students who have birthdays in January through April: Identify the benefits of prescribing psychiatric medication in pregnancy. Address the potential risks of birth defects in untreated mental illness. List and discuss at least two medications considered safe to take while pregnant. Include references to at least three relevant research articles.

Students who have birthdays in May through August: Identify the risks of prescribing psychiatric medication in pregnancy. Include the potential risks of birth defects. List two or three medications that cannot be given in pregnancy due to potential risk for birth defects and describe what those birth defects are. Include references to at least three relevant research articles.

Students who have birthdays in September through December: Explain what a prescriber needs to know about breastfeeding mothers. List two or three psychiatric medications considered safe for breastfeeding mothers and two or three medications that are not considered safe for breastfeeding mothers. Include references to at least three relevant research articles.

Answer 1

Patient with severe psychotic disorders face at least two challenges during pregnancy,that is the genetic risk of psychotic disorders and the risk of teratogenicity caused by psychotropic drugs. The use of  antidepressants in pregnant patient cause fetal abnormality.The main birth defects Schizophrenia and the risk of Treatogenicity .The fetal abnormalities caused by drugs mainly include treatogenic effects 3 monts before pregnancy and neonatal poisioning 3 months after pregnancy,and abnormal brain development and behavioral abnormalities due to prenatal exposure to these drugs.Malformation due to the exposure toantipsychotics in the ealy stage of pregnancy (first three month)especially the heart defects.All these information clearly explained by some reserchers like Huybrechts and Beforhand ,Petersen in their studies.T he two main safe drugs which can used in pregnancy are Escitalopram and Paroxetine.

The risk of using these drugs during fouth month to eight month are conginital malformations like Atrial and ventricular septal defect ,Ebsteins anomaly.The psychiatric drus which not used dring pregnancies are Bupropion ,Venlafaxine and Valporate ,these may cause craniofacial abnormalitis,limb defects and genetal abnormalities.

The prescriber must remember the psychiatric drugs are secreted in to the breast milk,the amount of medication which an infant is exposed depends the specific medication,the meternal dose of medication.Sertraline and paroxetine,Nortriptyline and imipramine are the most evidence- based medications for use of during breast feeding.