Safety of psychotropic medications in pregnancy: an observational cohort study -

Objective: The question of harmfulness of the psychiatric drugs creates a major dilemma for pregnant women. The risks associated with prenatal psychotropic drug exposure are often overestimated. It is unclear that psychotropic medication or disorders themselves increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. The purpose of this study is to generate data about the safety of psychotropic drugs in pregnancy and maternal characteristics of the pregnant women exposed to these drugs. Method: An observational cohort study was performed. Pregnancy outcomes of 135 pregnancies after psychotropic drug exposure are compared to a control group of 275 pregnancies. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in rates of major malformations, miscarriages, and preterm deliveries between the two groups. However, the rate of elective abortions was higher in the exposed group compared to the control group (11.1% vs. 5.1%, respectively; RR 2.18; 95% CI: 1.09-4.39), and most of them were nulliparous (45.2%). The majority of the pregnant women did not smoke cigarettes and no alcohol consumption was reported in both groups. Conclusion: Our study showed that there was a tendency to terminate pregnancy among women exposed to psychotropic drugs. An accurate risk assessment about drug safety and informing pregnant women would help to prevent unnecessary terminations of pregnancies.