Clinical strategies for the use of psychotropic drugs during pregnancy.

The treatment of major psychiatric disorders during pregnancy is becoming an increasing challenge for the clinician as fertility rates rise among mentally ill women. When prescribing psychotropic medication, the risk/benefit analysis comes to include the risks of the medication to the fetus, special risks to the mother because of the pregnant state, and the risks to both mother and fetus of the untreated psychiatric disorder. This article will review what is known about the risks to mother and fetus of antipsychotic, antidepressant, anxiolytic, mood stabilizing and antiparkinsonian agents, and will present treatment strategies designed to minimize those risks.