Antipsychotic drug use during pregnancy did not increase risk for adverse outcomes

Women taking antipsychotic drugs during pregnancy did not have significantly increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes compared with peers not taking antipsychotic drugs, according to study findings in BMJ.“There has been a considerable rise in antipsychotic medication use in pregnancy, from 3 per 1,000 pregnancies in 2001 to 8 per 1,000 in 2007,” study researcher Simone N. Vigod, MD, MSc, FRCPC, of the University of Toronto, and colleagues wrote. “Decisions about the use of antipsychotic drugs in pregnancy are not straightforward, however. It is recognized that a woman with serious mental illness who discontinues her medication in pregnancy, out of concern for fetal harm, may jeopardize her own mental health and her ability to care for her child after delivery.”