Careful management of bipolar disorder during pregnancy is critical because for so many patients with this illness, the road to emotional well-being has been a long one, requiring a combination of careful pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic strategies.Half of referrals to our Center for Women’s Mental Health – where we evaluate and treat women before, during, and… Read More »
Despite decreasing rates of alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy, the use of cannabis use during pregnancy is on the rise. According to data collected from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the use of cannabis in pregnant women aged 18 to 44 years rose from 2.37% in 2002 to 3.85% in 2014… Read More »
Pregnant women who take a class of drugs that’s often prescribed for anxiety or insomnia may run a higher risk of miscarriage, a new study suggests. Canadian researchers looked at the outcomes from more than 160,000 early pregnancies and found that women taking benzodiazepines, such as Alprazolam (Xanax), Diazepam (Valium) and Clonazepam (Klonopin), were nearly… Read More »
While different countries may have different attitudes toward the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has taken a firm stand against the use of alcohol during pregnancy. In the report entitled “Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders,” the AAP identified prenatal exposure to alcohol as the leading preventable cause of birth defects… Read More »
What is folic acid? Folic acid is the synthetic form of folate (vitamin B9), which can be found in many fortified foods and supplements. Vitamin B9 helps convert carbohydrates into glucose to be used as energy. Vitamin B9 is important for the function of the brain and plays a part in emotional and mental health.… Read More »
Because even small amounts of fetal exposure to alcohol have been associated with a constellation of adverse effects, women who are pregnant are counselled to avoid all consumption of alcohol. Women who are pregnant or planning to conceive are highly motivated and often make fairly significant changes in their health behaviors; however, we have seen… Read More »