My boyfriend and I were recently talking about having kids one day. I was wondering though, would I be able to take antipsychotics while pregnant? I wouldn’t be able to go off of my meds and don’t want a surrogate. I would love to have kids though. What I’ve seen online seems to vary. One site said you can’t take any atypicals but first generation meds are safe. Another site said they can cause a movement disorder or withdrawal in the baby that can cause respiratory issues for a couple of days. My therapist told me she had a client who was able to take a low dose of Seroquel and her baby was healthy.
Jason is Bipolar and I’m Schizoaffective so my other concern is the kids would be mentally ill. It’s not the worst thing in the world and we are aware of the symptoms so I believe we would catch any issues early.
Does anyone have any experience with this? Thanks!
I would take the lowest dose possible of medication if you decided to take them, or switch to one with no risk of birth defects or that doesn’t pass through breast milk.
There are more risks due to the mental illness and medications. I think Bipolar is hereditary so it’d be pretty likely that your kids would have Bipolar IMHO. My mom has Bipolar or Schizophrenia, but my dad doesn’t have a mental illness. My brother has some struggles with Bipolar but I struggled the most. And that’s just with one parent with a disorder.
Thank you so much for that. Yeah the site I saw mentioned Haldol is ok. I would really be suffering if I couldn’t take anything. I know I can still get ECT just not in the first trimester which is why they always give me a pregnancy test before the treatment. Thanks for your reply.
I was also wondering about this, because my husband and I would like to try for a child too. My pdoc said my meds (amisulpride) would be ok to take in a pregnancy, but I would switch or go on lower dose if I had to. I tried Haldol, but it didn’t work for me, made me feel dead. I’m also worried about passing on my sz or borderline to my child one day, but have enough awareness of warning signs, so can get treatment for my possible child in future if need be.
That’s a great resource, thank you! I don’t think I would have the same issues they mentioned because it would be a planned pregnancy and I would definitely quit smoking. I just wish they talked about taking meds. When I was in a state hospital there was a woman there that thought her pregnancy was cancer they were putting in her. She would say I’m not pregnant and hit her belly. It was really sad. Thanks for the reply!
I’m not familiar with amisulpride. Does it have another name? Is it an atypical? I think you should try to get pregnant if that’s what you want. It’s great you have a husband that would be supportive. I don’t think you can pass on Borderline because it’s a personality disorder. Good luck if that’s what you decide to do, and make sure you post about how it goes if you do become pregnant.
According to this, it looks like there is a 15% chance of passing on SZ to your children, that’s 85% chance of not passing it on!
You may have inherited an increased predisposition to schizophrenia
(or a related disorder) from your parent; however, not everyone who
carries such a predisposition will develop the symptoms. In many cases, living in what is considered a “low-risk” environment for
developing mental health problems is protective for those with either
high or low genetic risk.
To be honest bridgecomet, I couldn’t bring it up at my last appointment because I have so much going on right now that we spent all the time discussing meds and a strategy. I don’t plan to have children for awhile. Jason and I are only three months into the relationship but I know he’s the one. I did a relationship spread with the tarot the other day and we’re going to get married and have kids. I don’t put all my faith in them but I feel that will happen in my heart.
Thanks for the resources! I didn’t realize there is such a small chance in passing SZ on. I thought it was a lot higher. That’s comforting. I think we would be very loving parents to where the kids would feel comfortable enough to say what was going on in their head if any problems did come up. Hope everything is well with you.
I wish you could experience the joy and love I feel right now. Life can be very hard but it is a gift. There were many times I tried to end my life and I’m glad I’m still here. Have you tried antidepressants? The right med combo makes a world of difference. Good luck to you!
A friend of mine with sz wants a baby so the doctor said she should switch to seroquel, which she is in the process of doing.
My son has autism and I’m hoping he doesn’tget sz too. But one day he didn’t want to shower because he thought the police were watching him. He also thinks they watch him sleep through the window at night. I told him no one would get on a ladder and waste their time watching a little boy sleep all night, and he seemed to realize that was probably true. Maybe this is an early sign?
That’s great to hear about the Seroquel. I really responded to it so it would be good if I could take it.
I’m sorry to hear about your son. That kind of paranoia is unusual in children. That would be heartbreaking if he developed sz along with the autism. My prayers go out to you.
