Psychotropic medication use during pregnancy requires balancing the risks of untreated mental illness against the potential risks of medication exposure. This presentation reviews the evidence on SSRI and stimulant use in pregnancy and lactation, helping clinicians support their patients in making informed, individualized treatment decisions based on current research and clinical best practices, as appropriate to their professional scope.
Specific topics covered:
- Comparing the risks of untreated perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and ADHD (PMADs) with the risks of antidepressant or stimulant exposure during pregnancy.
- Key treatment considerations intended to maintain effective treatment, minimize switching medications, and optimizing care before conception.
- Safety profile data, including miscarriage, congenital malformations, preterm birth, neonatal adaptation syndrome, and persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) related to SSRI use during pregnancy.
- Non-pharmacologic interventions that support mental health during pregnancy to use concurrently.
- Medication management during pregnancy and postpartum, including dose adjustments, breastfeeding considerations, lactation safety, and strategies for tapering treatment when appropriate.
Speaker
Dr. Esther Rollhaus envisions a world where mental health is considered an essential piece of reproductive healthcare. She is a reproductive psychiatrist specialized in issues related to infertility, pregnancy loss, pregnancy and postpartum. She helps men, women and children through her personal practice, Child and Family Psychiatry in Riverdale, NY and via telepsychiatry to New York and New Jersey. She teaches and consults for Achieve, a mental health clinic for the frum community in Monsey and is a frequent speaker on many mental health topics. Dr. Rollhaus received her medical degree from the Icahn School of Medicine and completed general adult psychiatry residency and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Montefiore Medical Center. Her signature presentation, Hormones Are the Headline is on its way to becoming a continuing education course for professionals. Connect with Dr. Rollhaus at www.ChildandFamilyPsychiatry.com.