A new report offers guidance to physicians weighing the various therapeutic strategies available to treat women who experience a depressive disorder during pregnancy.
The report, developed by a work group convened by the American Psychiatric Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (Yonkers KA et al. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2009;31[5]:403-413; Obstet Gynecol. 2009;114[3]:703-713), comes at a time when they estimated that up to 23% of women experience a depressive disorder while pregnant and that about 13% of women (as of 2003) took an antidepressant at some point during pregnancy—double the rate seen just 4 years earlier.
The report offers 3 treatment algorithms to assist physicians in managing 3 groups of patients: those who are contemplating pregnancy while undergoing pharmacological treatment for depression, those who experience an episode of a major depressive disorder during pregnancy and who are not taking antidepressants, and those with a . . . [Full Text of this Article]
