What sort of medical help can I expect in pregnancy?

There are national guidelines which recognize the special needs of women with bipolar disorder from pre-pregnancy through to postpartum care, such as the NICE ‘Antenatal and Postnatal Mental Health’ Guideline (2014).

You can also find excellent information on the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ website.

The RCPsych website also has very useful leaflets on lithium and antipsychotics in pregnancy, mental health in pregnancy, postnatal depression and postpartum depression.

This is also the reason why Bipolar UK is a member of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) so we can campaign for an end to the current postcode lottery in maternal mental health services.