Can i take lamictal during pregnancy

If you do choose to breastfeed your infant while taking Lamictal, your infant should be closely monitored for side effects such as interrupted breathing, rash, drowsiness or poor sucking.

This is because Lamictal is associated with dangerous rashes. Have the infant's rash evaluated promptly. Dealing with racing thoughts? Always feeling tired? Our guide offers strategies to help you or your loved one live better with bipolar disorder.

Sign up for our newsletter and get it free. Pregnancy outcomes following in utero exposure to lamotrigine: A systematic review and meta-analysis. CNS Drugs. Lamotrigine use in pregnancy and risk of orofacial cleft and other congenital anomalies. Lamotrigine and Pregnancy: An Update. Updated August Grover S, Avasthi A. Mood stabilizers in pregnancy and lactation. Indian J Psychiatry. Gedzelman E, Meador KJ.

These are always complicated decisions. While there is concern about medications used during pregnancy, we cannot ignore the potential risks of untreated illness in the mother. Did you notice any difference in your bipolar when you lowered you dose? How long did it take you to lower it? MGH I am currently on mg of lamictal. If i were to drop down to mgs for the first trimester is it safe for the baby if i go back up to during 2nd and 3rd trimester if i did it at a slow pace?

I am going to be trying to conceive in about 6 months and i want give myself time to come down in my dose if I choose to do so. I am trying to figure whats best for me? Does any of the studies down indicate what the dosage amount was for the women studied? Previous Next. View Larger Image.

Carla Cook August 1, at pm. Karen January 23, at pm. This is the most up-to-date information on lamotrigine we have. Several studies looking at several thousand pregnancies have found no increase in birth defects. The use of more than one seizure medication, in particular valproic acid, along with lamotrigine, appears to be associated with an increased chance of birth defects.

Lamotrigine has not been associated with other pregnancy complications, such as preterm delivery delivery before week 37 or poor growth small size, low birth weight, or head circumference. I need to take lamotrigine throughout my entire pregnancy.

Will it cause withdrawal symptoms in my baby after birth? Based on one study, lamotrigine use in pregnancy is not expected to cause withdrawal symptoms in baby after birth. Does taking lamotrigine in pregnancy cause long-term problems in behavior or learning for the baby? Several studies have looked at the development of babies who were exposed to lamotrigine during pregnancy.

Most of these studies did not find differences in behavior or learning between babies exposed to lamotrigine and those who were not. The possible effects of lamotrigine in a nursing newborn are not clearly known, but no side effects have been reported in most infants.

There have been case reports of breastfed infants with breathing problems and anemia low red blood cell counts. People who are taking lamotrigine and nursing their child can watch for possible side effects, such as a rash, sleepiness, or poor sucking.

This is especially true for small, sick, or premature babies. Lamotrigine has gained widespread use in the USA as both an immediate and an extended-release agent. Lamotrigine is effective against a broad spectrum of seizure types and has a favorable metabolic profile, with few but significant drug interactions. Pregnancy registries in several countries have demonstrated that AED use in women with epilepsy is associated with an increased risk of fetal malformations, if the infant is exposed during the period of organogenesis.