Drug safety during pregnancy

 

Pregnant people with mental health disorders such as depression or bipolar disorder often face an impossible decision: risk their health or their future child's health by discontinuing or continuing their medication.

One in ten pregnant people are prescribed psychiatric drugs during pregnancy, but searching “is psychiatric drug safe to take during pregnancy” leads to one common result: not enough data. Many researchers, clinicians, and ethicists want to remedy this oversight and provide patients with the data they need to understand any potential risks for them and their fetuses.

Pregnant people are not often included in clinical trials despite efforts to make research more inclusive over the past few decades through legislation by the FDA and the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Of the 468 drugs approved by the FDA between 1980 and 2000, the risk of negative effects in pregnant people was undetermined in more than 90%. This often leaves clinicians in a tough spot with little data to help navigate the pros and cons of using a particular medication during pregnancy. 

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