Psychiatric disorders including drug therapy and addiction.

The follow-up of 238 women with antenatal and puerperal psychiatric illness indicated that drugs used for these conditions may affect the outcome of pregnancy. This may be due to the fact that psychotropic drugs have an effect on hormonal balances and neurotransmitters. Although antenatal and puerperal psychoses have symptoms which relate them to the main psychiatric categories, they are definite clinical entities (Bucknill and Luke, 1874; Hamilton, 1962); this no doubt reflects the major social and hormonal changes which occur during pregnancy and the puerperium.