Psychotropic drugs in pregnancy: a case-control study

Psychotropic drug exposure during pregnancy is a common problem. Among the 601 cases exposed to drugs during pregnancy, who were followed by our Toxicology Information and Follow-up Service, 124 cases had used psychotropic drugs for depression, anxiety, or psychotic disorders. As the control group, 248 women, who did not use any drugs were selected. Of the 124 cases, 80 (64.5%) had healthy babies, and 17 (13.7%) decided to terminate the pregnancy. Spontaneous abortions, intrauterine death (in the 38th week) and premature deliveries were observed in the 9 (7.3%), 1 (0.8%) and 3 (2.4%) cases, respectively, in the drug exposure group. Pregnancies of the 14 (11.3%) cases were continuing during the preparation of this manuscript. Of the 248 controls, 151 (60.9%) had healthy babies, 9 (3.6%) experienced spontaneous abortion and 3 (1.2%) decided to terminate their pregnancies, 3 (1.2%) had premature deliveries, and we observed one (0.4%) congenital abnormality, 81 (32.7%) cases were still pregnant. Odds Ratio (95% confidence interval) for spontaneous abortion was found to be 1.35 (1.27-11.82) in the cases exposed to psychotropic drugs (P=0.02). No developmental problems were observed in the babies followed for 12 months. These data may give information about the early- but not the late-term effects of psychotropic drugs used in pregnant women.