Prescribing change, expecting more
The Pregnancy Summit, held in London in early October, was an opportunity to hear about some of the latest science related to pregnancy and fetal health medicine. The Pregnancy and Medicine Initiative was present at the conference, which took place simultaneously with the first European Safe Motherhood Week, to help highlight some of the important work being done to improve…
Read more > 2015 Pregnancy Summit– State of the science on medicine in pregnancy
Catherine*, 37, works in public health and has suffered from severe depression for more than a decade. She takes Prozac but refused to let this stop her from pursuing her dream of having a family. This is her story. (*real name changed for anonymity.) I was diagnosed with major depression in 2004, when I was 26 and I began taking…
A few years ago, my husband Gary and I began talking seriously about having a child. We were approaching the “now or never” point (in terms of age), and realized that it couldn't just be a “happy accident,” because the mental illness medication I was taking at the time could potentially cause the baby harm. So I started scheduling consultation…
Read more > Women and Meds: A documentary on mental illness & pregnancy
An estimated 50 million Europeans (11% of the population) experience a mental disorder at some time in their lives. With mental disorders so common, it is vital that women get the right advice on how to manage their condition during pregnancy. Psychotropic medications during pregnancy: the facts Despite the staggering prevalence of depression during pregnancy, huge gaps still lie in…
Alongside growing global diagnoses of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is on the rise, affecting around 10% of women over their lifetime and, significantly, most prevalent among women of childbearing age. Together with those who begin pregnancy already suffering from the condition is the 1-7% of women who develop PTSD after giving birth. It’s clear there’s an issue that needs addressing.…
