Treatment Considerations in Patients who have Bipolar Disorder and are Pregnant or Postpartum
This session will focus on reviewing bipolar disorder in pregnant and postpartum patients. We will examine the benefits and risks associated with specific mood stabilizers, as well as the potential risks of withholding therapy on the dyad. Additionally, we will delve into the CANMAT bipolar disorder guidelines and the ACOG guidelines for psychiatric care in pregnant and postpartum individuals.
Learning Objectives:
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- Analyze the efficacy, risks, and benefits of using or withholding psychiatric medications for bipolar disorder during the prenatal and peripartum periods.
- Evaluate current guideline recommendations and recent literature describing the use of psychiatric medications in pregnant patients with bipolar disorder.
Speaker
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Stephanie Vail PharmD BCPP MPH FCCP FAAPPStephanie Vail, PharmD, MPH, BCPP, FCCP, FAAPP is a Professor in the University of New England School of Pharmacy, Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the Tufts University School of Medicine, Core Faculty in the Maine Medical Center (MMC) Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program, and an Instructor in the MMC Psychiatry Residency Program. She is a Board-Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist (BCPP) with 20 years’ experience providing direct patient care and interprofessional teaching, including clinical precepting for over 200 pharmacy and medical students, residents, and fellows on the MMC psychiatry consult-liaison and addiction medicine services. She has been inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacists (FCCP) and the American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (FAAPP), and has co-authored over 40 publications in journals including Journal of Addiction Medicine, Pharmacotherapy, Current Psychiatry, Journal of Psychopharmacology, and Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her pups: Sage, Basil, & Penny, and being among trees. She also enjoys the ocean, yoga, reading non-fiction, gardening, watercolor painting, visiting lighthouses, and looking at the sky.
