Pregnancy Planning for Women with Bipolar Disorder
In a recent article published in Current Psychiatry Online, entitled “Treating bipolar disorder during pregnancy,” assistant clinical professors of psychiatry at Stanford University Mytilee Vemuri, MD, MBA and Katherine Williams, MD provide an excellent summary of the risks and benefits associated with bipolar disorder and its treatment during women’s reproductive years, particularly during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Their article offers detailed information about the relative risks of the most commonly prescribed medications, and provides clear recommendations regarding working with young women with bipolar disorder before, during, and after pregnancy.


February’s online edition of The American Journal of Psychiatry contains an article entitled “Longitudinal Follow-Up of Bipolar Disorder in Women with Premenstrual Exacerbation: Findings from STEP-BD,” by Dr. Rodrigo Dias and colleagues. The objective of their research was to shed light upon “the impact of hormonal fluctuation during the menstrual cycle on the course of bipolar disorder,” frequency of relapse, and severity of symptoms.

