Treating psychosis in pregnant women: A measured approach
12. Provide psychoeducation about the postpartum period. Pregnancy is the time to educate your patient about the importance of sleep, warning signs of exacerbation of psychosis, and breastfeeding safety.
13. Be proactive with future female patients of childbearing age, regardless of whether they tell you they are sexually active. Women with psychosis have higher rates of unplanned pregnancy.3,4 When initiating treatment of psychosis in a woman of childbearing age, rather than treating her with the newest available medication that does not yet have safety data in pregnancy, it is best to start with a medication already known to be relatively safe in pregnancy. This way, if she were to become pregnant, your treatment plan would already be safe and appropriate.
14. Consult a reproductive psychiatrist if needed.
