Exploring Pregnancy and Lithium

Lithium may pose risks to an unborn child, but discontinuing treatment may also present risks. More research into alternatives to lithium is needed.

When I was researching lithium and pregnancy, it quickly became apparent that alternatives really need to be investigated. Bipolar disorder is one of the mood disorders that responds well to lithium treatment, and most women with bipolar disorder are in their childbearing years. Since both continuing lithium and stopping lithium present risks, potential mothers may have some difficult choices to make.

What about alternative drugs? Other mood stabilizers pose similar risks and so are unlikely to be prescribed to someone who functions well on lithium. There are some other medications, such as certain types of antidepressants and antipsychotics, which may be safer in pregnancy than lithium. However, many may have already tried such drugs, without success.

Lithium and breastfeeding is also an area of controversy, with most sources advising against it. However, although we do know it’s passed into the breast milk, there has been no research into the full implications of lithium and nursing. We do know that serious illness relapse is a likely implication of not recommencing lithium shortly after the birth. Possibly another tough choice for mothers-to-be.

I wonder if Dark Therapy may be a suitable intervention for pregnant women. I’m stabbing in the dark here (no pun intended) as I really have no idea if such a treatment would pose risks to pregnancy. I imagine that amber glasses (that is, glasses that block out blue spectrum light) are likely to be a safe self-help option, possibly as part of a holistic, bigger picture. I’ll see if I can find out some more…