Perinatal complications

Parnas J, Mednick SA and Moffett TE (1981). Perinatal complications and adult schizophrenia. 

Environmental factors, such as prenatal maternal infections and perinatal complications, have been implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Also, the correlation of only 0.6 for age of onset in monozygotic twins concordant for schizophrenia suggests that non-genetic factors play a role in determining the age of onset (Kendler et ah, 1987). A greater frequency or severity of these factors could conceivably result in an earlier onset of schizophrenia. 

Haloperidol-related dyskinesias and pre- and perinatal complications in autistic children. PsychopharmacolBull31 363-369. 

Formal human studies are limited and based on naturalistic exposure with an attempt to have a control group matched as closely as possible. However, there are inevitably differences in such groups, the most obvious and perhaps most important being the reason why one group is on a medication while the other is not. In other words, the illness that led to treatment with the medication (in this case a mood disorder) may itself be a risk factor for lower fetal viability, increased incidence of perinatal complications, or congenital malformations including neurodevelopmental problems, as well as major structural anomalies (e.g., cleft palate, spina bifida). 

Smoking (constituents of tobacco smoke) All Intrauterine growth retardation prematurity sudden infant death syndrome perinatal complications... 

In 20 infants exposed to lithium during labor and delivery, there were higher rates of perinatal complications (65%) and special care nursery admissions (45%) than in nonexposed infants, although most complications were transient (494). An infant who died shortly after birth had oromandibular-limb hypogenesis spectrum which was speculatively attributed to lithium that the mother had taken during most of her pregnancy (495). 

The Maternal Lifestyle Study has reported that the prevalence of adverse perinatal complications associated with the use of cocaine or opiates during pregnancy was lower than has been previously reported (249). In 11 811 mother-infant pairs followed prospectively, 11% of the exposed and non-exposed groups were hospitalized at least once. However, violence was a factor (20%) in admissions among the cocaine-exposed women. 

Maternal lithium therapy may also endanger the fetus. Neonatal diabetes insipidus, hypothyroidism, cardiac dysfunction, respiratory difficulties, low muscle tone and lethargy have all been reported. Lithium has been shown to equilibrate completely across the placenta, with higher lithium concentrations at delivery associated with more perinatal complications [149]. 

Bradley LA, Canick JA, Palomaki GE, Haddow JE. Undetectable maternal serum unconjugated estriol levels in the second trimester risk of perinatal complications associated with placental sulfatase deficiency. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1997 176 531-5. 

R. L. Andres, M.C. Day, Perinatal complications associated with maternal tobacco use, Semin. Neonatal. 5 (2000) 231-241. 

A third hypothesis is that the caregiving environment and lead combine to affect intellectual development adversely, similar to the relationship found by Werner el al (1968) between perinatal complications and later psychological development. At 20 months of age, IQ differences between children with and... 

Exclusion criteria included problematic pregnancy, premature or abnormal delivery, birth weight under 2.5 kg, perinatal complications, severe childhood diseases with or without hospitalization, (residual) fine motor or perceptual problems, attendance at special task classes for extra teaching, and also some familial factors, such as parental divorce, or psychiatric disease or subnormal intelligence in one of the parents. 

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