Pregnancy and Bipolar Disorder
Pregnancy and the months following childbirth can be extremely challenging for any woman. Generally speaking, the potential obstacles increase for women affected by a serious mental illness. Unfortunately, the risks rise even higher for women affected by some form of bipolar disorder. In fact, current evidence suggests that pregnant women and new mothers with a bipolar illness have greater odds of facing serious mental health-related obstacles than their counterparts affected by other mental illnesses. They also have greater odds of experiencing problems when caring for their newborns.Common Bipolar Medications
A number of medications have received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as bipolar disorder treatments. The list of approved options includes:- Lithium (e.g., Lithane or Lithobid)
- Atypical antipsychotics (e.g., risperidone/Risperdal and aripiprazole/Abilify), and
- Anti-seizure medications such as valproic acid/valproate (e.g., Depakote) and carbamazepine (e.g., Tegretol)
Risks for Pregnant Women
Unfortunately, many widely used bipolar medications pose a potential threat to the health of pregnant women and/or their developing fetuses. The specific risks vary from medication to medication. For example, the use of lithium in the later months of pregnancy can lead to serious complications in newborns that include:- Heart problems
- An underactive thyroid gland
- Liver problems
- Breathing problems, and
- A kidney disorder called diabetes insipidus (which, despite its name, is not related to type 1 or type 2 diabetes)
- Underweight newborns, and
- A vitamin K deficiency that can interfere with normal fetal development in several ways
- Liver damage
- Low blood sugar, and
- Valproate withdrawal syndrome
- Resistance to the normal effects of insulin and/or full-blown gestational diabetes
- Weight increases, and
- A serious, multi-symptom pregnancy complication known as preeclampsia
