Pregnancy in women with psychotic disorders

Abstract

Clinical experience and past research suggest that women with psychotic disorders have special needs when it comes to the provision of family planning and obstetric care. The aim of this study was to examine variables related to these issues in a representative sample of women with psychotic disorders who were in contact with mental health services. Of the 110 women who completed the survey, 65 (59.1%) were mothers. These women had a total of 257 pregnancies and 198 live births. One hundred and thirty-four (52%) of the pregnancies were unplanned and twenty-five percent of these pregnancies ended in termination. This population suffers from a high rate of unwanted pregnancies and reproductive losses. Further research is needed to assess the pre-and peri-conceptual needs of these women in order to optimize outcomes for the mothers and their foetuses.

Vulnerable populations and multicentred research

“…Multicentred research projects have been well documented in the literature. The advantage of using multiple sites is recognized (Barkla et al . 2000), their use is increasing, and the approach is frequently needed to obtain the required number of participants (Barkla et al .…”

“…The advantage of using multiple sites is recognized (Barkla et al . 2000), their use is increasing, and the approach is frequently needed to obtain the required number of participants (Barkla et al . 2000; Lee & Kristjanson 2003; McCauley‐Elsom & Kulkarni 2007).…”

“…Multicentred research projects have been well documented in the literature. The advantage of using multiple sites is recognized (Barkla et al 2000), their use is increasing, and the approach is frequently needed to obtain the required number of participants (Barkla et al 2000;Lee & Kristjanson 2003;McCauley-Elsom & Kulkarni 2007). However, there remain several questions relating to multicentred ethical approval: (i) How often must a project be scrutinized?…”

Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research: The First 17 Years

“…During that time Paul White, Robyn Hayes and John McGrath contributed to over a dozen Cochrane reviews [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Other projects examined the needs of parents with serious mental illness [19][20][21][22][23][24], the identification of psychoses in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations as well as in correctional settings and in the measurement of quality of life in patients with mental illness [25][26][27]. Other projects examined the needs of parents with serious mental illness [19][20][21][22][23][24], the identification of psychoses in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations as well as in correctional settings and in the measurement of quality of life in patients with mental illness [25][26][27].…”

Disparities in safe sex counseling & behavior among individuals with substance dependence: a cross-sectional study

“…For example, black men and women are most affected by chlamydia and gonorrhea, having 9-19 times higher rates than whites [1]. Patients with mental illness have worse health outcomes and a higher medical burden compared to the general population [18-20], including high rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion [5,21,22]. Individuals with mental illness are at higher risk for acquiring STIs and having unintended pregnancies due to increased rates of unprotected intercourse as a result of having less knowledge about contraception, lower capacity to plan ahead, inability to navigate contraceptive resources and being at higher risk for sexual coercion [4-6,23-32].…”