Women with bipolar disorder are at higher risk of adverse pregnancy situations and birth complications.
According to the study published in the Nov. 8 journal BMJ, bipolar disorder during pregnancy increases the risks of cesarean or instrumental delivery or preterm birth and giving birth to babies with small head. Bipolar disorder is a condition in which the patient experiences disruptive mood swings and depression.
Researchers from Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden used data from three national health registers that included both women with treated (320) and untreated (554) bipolar disorder. These women were compared with women (331,263) without the disorder, who gave birth between 2005 and 2009.
Many other factors like maternal age, weight, smoking status, cohabitation and alcohol/substance abuse were also taken into consideration. Researchers found bipolar disorder more common among overweight, alcohol or substance abused women with the habit of smoking.
At the end of the study, both treated and untreated women with bipolar disorder were found at higher risks of cesarean or instrumental delivery and a non-spontaneous start to delivery. They were also at 50 percent higher risks of giving birth before completing the gestational period (before 37 weeks).
Babies of these women were found more likely to be born with a small head, a condition known as microcephaly and low blood sugar levels.
"Mood-stabilizing treatment is probably not the sole reason for the increased risk of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes previously observed in mothers with bipolar disorder," concerned by the results, the authors wrote in a news release.
Researchers couldn't prove the importance of treating this condition before pregnancy as their findings "generally did not support a significant difference between untreated and treated" women with this disorder.
