Obstetric complications in bipolar disorder: Psychiatric factors and the risk of caesarean section

Potentially modifiable risk and protective factors affecting mental and emotional wellness in pregnancy

Introduction

Impaired mental and emotional wellness often co-occurs with prenatal substance use, and both affect infant socio-emotional, cognitive, language, motor, and adaptive behavioral outcomes. Guided by the modified biopsychosocial framework, this study examined the role of common substance exposures during pregnancy (i.e., alcohol and cannabis), socio-cultural factors (social support during pregnancy, adverse childhood experiences), and reproductive health factors on maternal mental health (MMH).

Methods

Data were obtained from a prospective cohort study-Ethanol, Neurodevelopment, Infant, and Child Health (ENRICH-2), and included 202 pregnant persons. Alcohol and cannabis exposures were assessed through repeated prospective interviews and a comprehensive battery of drug and ethanol biomarkers. MMH outcomes were evaluated during the third trimester through the Perceived Stress Scale, Edinburgh Depression Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorders-7, and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Univariate and multivariable linear regression models evaluated significant predictors of MMH.

Results

Results of multivariable analysis indicate that both maternal adverse childhood experiences and alcohol exposure, even at low-to-moderate levels, during pregnancy were associated with poorer scores for most MMH measures, while higher level of social support and Spanish as the primary language at home (as a proxy of enculturation) had protective effects (all p's < 0.05).

Conclusion

These findings highlight the importance of assessing substance use, including periconceptional alcohol exposure, and mental health in pregnant persons as closely related risk factors which cannot be addressed in isolation. Our findings also emphasize a strong protective effect of socio-cultural factors on maternal mental and emotional wellbeing-a strong precursor to maternal-infant bonding and infant neurodevelopment.

Striking the Balance: Bipolar Disorder in the Perinatal Period

The authors reviewed the literature, published between 2018 and 2023, on treating bipolar disorder in the perinatal period in order to summarize current treatment perspectives. Mood episodes occur during pregnancy and there are high rates of both initial onset and recurrence in the postpartum period. Bipolar disorder itself is associated with higher risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including gestational hypertension, hemorrhage, cesarean delivery, and small for gestational age infants. A general principle of perinatal treatment includes maintaining psychiatric stability of the pregnant person while reducing medication exposure risk to the fetus. A variety of factors can compromise psychiatric stability, including rapid discontinuation of stabilizing medications, decreased efficacy due to physiologic changes of pregnancy, and exacerbation of underlying psychiatric illness. Psychosocial interventions include optimizing sleep, increasing support, and reducing stress. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends against discontinuing or withholding medications solely due to pregnancy or lactation status. Individualized treatment involves a discussion of the risks of undertreated bipolar disorder weighed against the risks of individual medication choice based on available evidence regarding congenital malformations, adverse neonatal and obstetrical events, and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Valproate is not a first-line treatment due to higher risks. Data are lacking on safety for many newer medications. The authors review current safety data regarding lithium, lamotrigine, and antipsychotics, which are the most commonly used treatments for managing bipolar disorder in the perinatal period. Due to physiologic changes during pregnancy, frequent therapeutic drug monitoring and dose adjustments are required.

Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotic Treatment during Pregnancy: A Case Series

INTRODUCTION

Data from the literature show that prolonged-release injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) ensure constant blood drug levels better patient compliance and offer a simpler treatment regimen for both patients and caregivers. This observational-descriptive study aims to detect the possible complications found in newborns of women with bipolar or psychotic disorders and LAI therapy during pregnancy.

METHODS

This study involved women with psychotic disorders during pregnancy who contacted the Teratology Information Center of Bergamo, Italy between 2016 and 2021 to receive counseling on the possible risks of exposure to LAI therapy. The follow-up procedure was carried out by telephone interview or direct contact with the patient and/or her physician.

RESULTS

In this study, LAI treatment in pregnancy was not associated with an increased risk of malformations. All but one of the children in the sample were born healthy and the mothers maintained psychopathological compensation during pregnancy.

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed that, despite the small size of the sample under examination, the administration of LAIs do not compromise the normal intrauterine development of the unborn child and there were no evident major malformations.

The U-shaped relationship between parental age and the risk of bipolar disorder in the offspring: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Parenthood age may affect the risk for the development of different psychiatric disorders in the offspring, including bipolar disorder (BD). The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to appraise the relationship between paternal age and risk for BD and to explore the eventual relationship between paternal age and age at onset of BD. We searched the MEDLINE, Scopus, Embase, PsycINFO online databases for original studies from inception, up to December 2021. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted. Sixteen studies participated in the qualitative synthesis, of which k = 14 fetched quantitative data encompassing a total of 13,424,760 participants and 217,089 individuals with BD. Both fathers [adjusted for the age of other parent and socioeconomic status odd ratio - OR = 1.29(95%C.I. = 1.13-1.48)] and mothers aged ≤ 20 years [(OR = 1.23(95%C.I. = 1.14-1.33)] had consistently increased odds of BD diagnosis in their offspring compared to parents aged 25-29 years. Fathers aged ≥ 45 years [adjusted OR = 1.29 (95%C.I. = 1.15-1.46)] and mothers aged 35-39 years [OR = 1.10(95%C.I. = 1.01-1.19)] and 40 years or older [OR = 1.2(95% C.I. = 1.02-1.40)] likewise had inflated odds of BD diagnosis in their offspring compared to parents aged 25-29 years. Early and delayed parenthood are associated with an increased risk of BD in the offspring. Mechanisms underlying this association are largely unknown and may involve a complex interplay between psychosocial, genetic and biological factors, and with different impacts according to sex and age range. Evidence on the association between parental age and illness onset is still tentative but it points towards a possible specific effect of advanced paternal age on early BD-onset.

Role of Maternal Microbiota and Nutrition in Early-Life Neurodevelopmental Disorders

The rise in the prevalence of obesity and other related metabolic diseases has been paralleled by an increase in the frequency of neurodevelopmental problems, which has raised the likelihood of a link between these two phenomena. In this scenario, maternal microbiota is a possible linking mechanistic pathway. According to the "Developmental Origins of Health and Disease" paradigm, environmental exposures (in utero and early life) can permanently alter the body's structure, physiology, and metabolism, increasing illness risk and/or speeding up disease progression in offspring, adults, and even generations. Nutritional exposure during early developmental stages may induce susceptibility to the later development of human diseases via interactions in the microbiome, including alterations in brain function and behavior of offspring, as explained by the gut-brain axis theory. This review provides an overview of the implications of maternal nutrition on neurodevelopmental disorders and the establishment and maturation of gut microbiota in the offspring.

Assessment of Cesarean Delivery and Neurodevelopmental and Psychiatric Disorders in the Children of a Population-Based Swedish Birth Cohort

IMPORTANCE

Recent studies suggest that cesarean delivery (CD) is associated with increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children, although they were unable to control for indications for CD or familial confounding beyond full siblings.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association between CD and neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in children.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This Swedish register-based cohort study included 1 179 341 term-birth singletons born between January 1, 1990, and December 31, 2003, and followed up through December 31, 2013. All individuals were linked to their full siblings, maternal and paternal half siblings, and maternal full cousins. Statistical analyses were performed from September 26, 2019, to January 16, 2021.

EXPOSURES

Birth by CD recorded at birth, stratified into planned and intrapartum CD.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Registered diagnoses of neurodevelopmental disorders, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders (ASD), intellectual disability, tic disorders, communication disorders, learning disorders, and any neurodevelopmental disorder; and psychiatric disorders, including anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depressive disorders, eating disorders, bipolar disorders, psychotic disorders, and any psychiatric disorder.

RESULTS

Of 1 179 341 individuals, 1 048 838 (533 140 boys [50.8%]) were delivered vaginally, 59 514 (30 138 boys [50.6%]) were delived via planned CD, and 70 989 (39 191 boys [55.2%]) were delivered via intrapartum CD. Mean (SD) age at follow-up was 17.7 (4.1) years for vaginal delivery, 16.6 (4.2) years for planned CD, and 16.8 (4.1) years for intrapartum CD. Compared with vaginal delivery, and after controlling for measured covariates (parental and neonatal characteristics, maternal comorbidities, and pregnancy complications), CD was associated with higher risk in children of any neurodevelopmental disorder (planned CD, hazard ratio [HR], 1.17; 95% CI, 1.13-1.22; intrapartum CD, HR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.05-1.14), ADHD (planned CD, HR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.12-1.23; intrapartum CD, HR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.05-1.15), and intellectual disability (planned CD, HR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.14-1.39; intrapartum CD, HR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.06-1.28). Only planned CD was associated with a higher risk of ASD (HR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.10-1.31), communication disorders (HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.02-1.28), and learning disorders (HR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.01-1.30). Cesarean delivery was not associated with the remaining disorders. The associations between CD and any neurodevelopmental disorder, ADHD, ASD, and intellectual disability attenuated in full cousins and paternal half siblings, and further attenuated (became nonsignificant) in maternal half siblings and full siblings (risk of any neurodevelopmental disorder in full siblings, planned CD, HR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.81-1.06; intrapartum CD, HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.96-1.21).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

The findings of this study suggest that the association between CD and increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in the children was most likely explained by unmeasured familial confounding.