[Neuroleptics, schizophrenia and pregnancy. Epidemiological and teratologic study]

Abstract

We collected, in a French postal study, data about psychotropic medications during pregnancy and neonatal health of new-borns, among 199 children born from schizophrenic mothers between 1984 and 1989. We distinguished four periods of exposition for each pregnancy: exclusive teratogenicity-period or "first trimester" (T1), "second trimester" (T2), third trimester from the date of fetal viability until birth (T3), and effective last month of pregnancy (M9). All the new-born were counted as exposed/or not, for each period and each medication. The main statistical test is the estimation of confidence variation of the odd ratio (p less than 0.05). No augmentation of malformation is noted in the whole sample, with 2.5% of malformed children. But a risk of malformation is discussed with neuroleptics--especially with haloperidol--without being positively asserted: indeed, we observed 4 malformations among the 89 children exposed to at least one neuroleptic during T1, and 3 malformed among the 29 exposed to haloperidol. The rate of prematurity seems to be higher than--expected--12.3% in the sample, against 5.6% in INSEE-data. However, the most remarkable point concerning this study consists in a lack of relation--in our sample--between the risks of prematurity and vital perinatal danger on the one hand, and psychotropic treatments on the other hand. In another study, based on the two French records of malformed children, we find no correlation between the prescription of different neuroleptics, and the type of recorded malformations, among 246 malformed children born from mothers exposed to at least one neuroleptic during the first trimester of pregnancy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)