Lithium, Valproate and Carbamazepine in the Treatment of Bipolar Afective Disorders during Pregnancy and the Postdelivery Period

Overview

In the introduction the authors characterize briefly bipolar affective disorders. They discuss the course of bipolar affective disorders during pregnancy and after delivery, characterized by an increased risk of rekurence and relapse of complaints. In the main part the authors review the contemporary literatury on the use of lithium, karbamazepin, valproate in the treatment of bipolar disorders during the mentioned periods and characterize the main assets and risks of their use (teratogenicity, perinatal toxicity, undesirable effects during breastfeeding, behavioural teratogenicity etc.). In the conclusion the authors present the algorithm of treatment of bipolar disorders during pregnancy and after delivery focused on the mentioned pharmaceutical preparations.

Key words:
bipolar affective disorder - pregnancy - postpartum period - lactation - lithium - valproate - carbamazepine - teratogenicity - perinatal toxicity - behavioural teratogenicity.