{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T13:41:49Z","timestamp":1791380509874,"version":"4.3.3"},"reference-count":9,"publisher":"MedWorks Media","issue":"2","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Psychopharmacol Bull"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction\nPregnancy is a vulnerable period for recurrence of bipolar disorder. Discontinuation of mood stabilisers during pregnancy and the postpartum period can significantly increase the risk of recurrence of bipolar disorder. Lamotrigine is an anti-epileptic drug that has been approved for the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder. Epilepsy literature has indicated that lamotrigine has a reassuring safety profile in pregnancy but there is little information on its effectiveness and safety in pregnant women with mental disorders.\nMethod\nWe conducted a retrospective review of all pregnant women who presented to an urban maternal mental health centre in Auckland, New Zealand between 2012 and 2014 and were treated with antipsychotics and\/or mood stabilisers. Pregnancy outcome, obstetric and perinatal complications, congenital malformations and maternal mental health in the postnatal period were considered.\nResults\nHere, we present the outcomes in the subset of six women who were treated with lamotrigine 100\u2013400 mg\/day for the entire pregnancy. Five were diagnosed with bipolar disorder and one with major depression. Three women received additional psychotropic medication during pregnancy. No women needed psychiatric hospitalisation. All babies were live birth after 36 weeks gestation. Two babies had low birth weight and required NICU admissions. Two women required lower segment caesarean section and the other 4 were induced. A trachea-esophageal fistula was noted in one baby. Four babies who were breastfed while their mothers received uninterrupted treatment with lamotrigine, experienced no complications.\nDiscussion\nThis naturalistic study indicates that lamotrigine can be an effective treatment option for maintenance of bipolar illness in women of childbearing age.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.64719\/pb.4350","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,21]],"date-time":"2025-10-21T11:39:16Z","timestamp":1761046756000},"page":"63-69","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Maternal and Fetal Outcomes After Lamotrigine Use in Pregnancy: A Retrospective Analysis from an Urban Maternal Mental Health Centre in New Zealand"],"prefix":"10.64719","volume":"46","author":[{"given":"Chandni","family":"Prakash","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Susan","family":"Hatters-Friedman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Charmian","family":"Moller-Olsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abigail","family":"North","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"54175","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Viguera AC, Nonacs R, Cohen LS, Tondo L, Murray A, Baldessarini RJ. Risk of recurrence of bipolar disorder in pregnant and non-pregnant women after discontinuing lithium maintenance. Am J Psychiatry. 2000;157:179\u2013184.","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.ajp.157.2.179"},{"key":"ref2","unstructured":"Briggs GC, Freeman RK, Yaffe SJ, editors. Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation. 9. Lipincott Williams and Wilkins; 2011. A Reference Guide to Fetal and Neonatal Risk."},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wlodarczyk BJ, Palacios AM, George TM, Finnell RH. Antiepileptic drugs and pregnancy outcomes. Am J Med Genet Part A. 2012;158A:2071\u20132090.","DOI":"10.1002\/ajmg.a.35438"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Clark CT, Klein AM, Perel JM, Helsel J, Wisner KL. Lamotrigine dosing for pregnant patients with bipolar disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 2013;170:1240\u20131247.","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.ajp.2013.13010006"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ohman I, Vitols S, Tomson T. Lamotrigine in pregnancy: Pharmacokinetics during delivery, in the neonate, and during lactation. Epilepsia. 2000;41(6):709\u2013713.","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1528-1157.2000.tb00232.x"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zavodnick AD, Ali R. Lamotrigine in the treatment of unipolar depression with and without comorbidities: a literature review. Psychiatr Q Sept. 2012;83(3):371\u2013383.","DOI":"10.1007\/s11126-012-9208-4"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wakil L, Epperson CN, Gonzalez J, O\u2019Reardon JP, Kim DR. Neonatal outcomes with the use of Lamotrigine for Bipolar Disorder in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: A case series and review of literature. Psychopharmacology Bull. 2009;42:91\u201398.","DOI":"10.64719\/pb.4090"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cunnington M, Tennis P. International lamotrigine pregnancy registry scientific advisory committee. Lamotrigine and the risk of malformations in pregnancy. Neurology. 2005;64:955\u2013960.","DOI":"10.1212\/01.WNL.0000154515.94346.89"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Morrow J, Russell A, Guthrie E, Parsons L, Robertson I, Waddell R, Irwin B, McGivern RC, Morrison PJ, Craig J. Malformation risks of antiepileptic drugs in pregnancy: a prospective study from the the UK Epilepsy and Pregnancy Register. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2006;77:193\u2013198.","DOI":"10.1136\/jnnp.2005.074203"}],"container-title":["Psychopharmacology Bulletin"],"original-title":[],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T19:26:16Z","timestamp":1791314776000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/medworksmedia.com\/pb-article\/maternal-and-fetal-outcomes-after-lamotrigine-use-in-pregnancy-a-retrospective-analysis-from-an-urban-maternal-mental-health-centre-in-new-zealand\/"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,12]]},"references-count":9,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,12]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.64719\/pb.4350","relation":{},"ISSN":["2472-2448"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2472-2448","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,12]]}}}