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Bipolar disorder Pregnancy & childbearing

Pregnancy-risk medicines without contraception advice

A medicine that can harm a pregnancy should not be prescribed to someone who could become pregnant without contraception counselling.

70% of the time this step is missed

The silent should: A medicine that can harm a pregnancy should not be prescribed to someone who could become pregnant without contraception counselling.

In our analysis of de-identified U.S. psychiatric records, this step was missing 70% of the time it should have happened.

This page is information to help you ask questions — it is not medical advice, and you should never start, stop, or change a medication on your own. Bring these questions to your clinician.

Questions for your doctor the next time you see them

Copy a line and ask it — these are questions, never instructions to change treatment.

  • Could this medicine affect a pregnancy, and have we talked about contraception?
  • If I might become pregnant, are there safer options for me?

This page is informational and not medical advice. It describes care patterns across a population, not your situation. Bring these questions to a clinician who knows you.

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