ADHD Medication Use During Pregnancy Poses Modest Birth Risks

The use of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications during pregnancy can modestly increase the risk of some negative birth outcomes, according to astudy published Friday inPediatrics. Ulrika N örby, Ph.D., of Lund University in Sweden and colleagues found that infants exposed to ADHD medications during pregnancy were about 50% more likely of being admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) than infants whose mothers never took these medications and about 20% more likely to require care in a NICU than infants whose mothers used these medications before or after but not during pregnancy.Infants exposed to ADHD medications in utero were also more likely to experience central nervous system –related disorders such as seizures (odds ratio=1.9) and were more often born preterm (odds ratio=1.3) compared with infants who were not exposed to these medications. “These findings warrant attention but are hardly reasons to abstain from ADHD medication during pregnancy if treatment is crucial for the woman,” Nörby and colleagues wrote. “Because women who used these drugs during pregnancy in many ways differed from the average pregnant population, it is uncertain to what extent these associations can be explained by the ADHD medication itself.” N örby and colleagues analyzed data from Swedish birth and medical registries, including nearly one million single births recorded between July 1, 2006, and December 31, 2014. They identified 1,59...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: atomoxetine attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) CNS disorders Kimberly Yonkers NICU pediatrics pregnancy preterm birth stimulants Ulrika N örby Source Type: research