Course of Illness and Treatment Updates for Bipolar Disorder in the Perinatal Period

• Published in: Current psychiatry reports Vol. 24; no. 2; pp. 111 - 120
• Main Authors: Batt, Melissa M., Olsavsky, Aviva K., Dardar, Shaleah, St. John-Larkin, Celeste, Johnson, Rachel L., Sammel, Mary D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.02.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Bipolar disorder; Bipolar Disorder - diagnosis; Bipolar Disorder - drug therapy; Female; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Postpartum Period - psychology; Pregnancy; Psychiatry; Reproductive Psychiatry and Women's Health (L Hantsoo and S Nagle-Yang; Risk Factors; Section Editors; Topical Collection on Reproductive Psychiatry and Women's Health; Pregnancy; Postpartum period; Bipolar disorder; Antipsychotic agents; Antimanic agents; Peripartum period
• ISSN: 1523-3812; 1535-1645
• DOI: 10.1007/s11920-022-01323-6

Purpose of Review The perinatal period is a time of increased vulnerability for people with bipolar disorder (BD). The purpose of this review is to provide an update of the literature from the last 3 years regarding course of illness and treatments for BD in the perinatal period to guide clinical care. Recent Findings Postpartum manic and depressive episodes are emerging as having a unique presentation that may differentiate them from non-perinatal mood episodes. Many important updates regarding medication treatment in the perinatal period have been published recently that have considered the risks of untreated illness versus treatment risks in this population.’ Summary Despite significant research, there are still gaps in knowledge regarding safety and efficacy of medications for the mother and child. Crucial future areas of study include improved screening guidelines, randomized controlled trials examining medication safety in pregnancy and lactation, and efficacy of nonpharmacologic treatments.