Antipsychotic Use During Pregnancy May Harm Infants

A new study suggests that antipsychotic drug use during pregnancy may have an adverse effect on infants.

Researchers at the Emory University in Atlanta conducted neuromotor tests on 22 babies born to women who took antipsychotics - such as Seroquel - during their pregnancies and 85 infants whose mothers did not take the class of drugs. They performed the Infant Neurological International Battery (INFANIB) test on the infants to evaluate tone, posture, reflexes and motor skills.

The study shows that the antipsychotic drug exposure in the babies produced impaired INFANIB test scores.

Researchers conclude that the test results "support an additional level of clinical scrutiny in medication selection, treatment planning, and risk/benefit discussions for women with illnesses [that] may warrant antipsychotic pharmacotherapy during gestation."

They also note that there is a lack of information on the risks of antipsychotic drug use during pregnancy and that although animal studies exist, well controlled human studies have not been done.

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