Skip to main content
NCBI home page
British Medical Journal logoLink to British Medical Journal
. 1973 Apr 21;2(5859):135–136. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5859.135

Lithium and Pregnancy—I, Report from the Register of Lithium Babies

M Schou, M D Goldfield, M R Weinstein, A Villeneuve
PMCID: PMC1589265  PMID: 4266975

Abstract

We have collected information about 118 children born to mothers who were given lithium treatment during the first trimester of pregnancy. The data show that the risk of teratogenic effects is lower than one might have expected from some of the studies carried out on rats and mice; they do not answer the question of whether or not lithium is teratogenic in man. The data were collected retrospectively and therefore overestimate rather than underestimate the risk of teratogenicity.

Full text

PDF
135

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aoki F. Y., Ruedy J. R. Lithium intoxication. Can Med Assoc J. 1972 Jan 22;106(2):112–112. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BASS A. D., YNTEMA C. L., HAMMOND W. S., FRAZER M. L. Studies on the mechanism by which sulfadiazine affects the survival of the mammalian embryo. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1951 Apr;101(4):362–367. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Baastrup P. C., Schou M. Lithium as a prophylactic agents. Its effect against recurrent depressions and manic-depressive psychosis. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1967 Feb;16(2):162–172. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1967.01730200030005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Gralla E. J., McIlhenny H. M. Studies in pregnant rats, rabbits and monkeys with lithium carbonate. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1972 Mar;21(3):428–433. doi: 10.1016/0041-008x(72)90163-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Johansen K. T. Lithium teratogenicity. Lancet. 1971 May 15;1(7707):1026–1027. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(71)91430-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Lewis W. H., Suris O. R. Treatment with lithium carbonate. Results in 35 cases. Tex Med. 1970 Dec;66(12):58–63. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. SCHOU M. Biology and pharmacology of the lithium ion. Pharmacol Rev. 1957 Mar;9(1):17–58. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Schou M., Baastrup P. C. Lithium treatment of manic-depressive disorder. Dosage and control. JAMA. 1967 Aug 28;201(9):696–698. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Szabo K. T. Teratogenic effect of lithium carbonate in the foetal mouse. Nature. 1970 Jan 3;225(5227):73–75. doi: 10.1038/225073a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. TRAUTNER E. M., PENNYCUIK P. R., MORRIS R. J., GERSHON S., SHANKLY K. H. The effects of prolonged sub-toxic lithium ingestion on pregnancy in rats. Aust J Exp Biol Med Sci. 1958 Aug;36(4):305–321. doi: 10.1038/icb.1958.33. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Vacaflor L., Lehmann H. E., Ban T. A. Side effects and teratogenicity of lithium carbonate treatment. J Clin Pharmacol J New Drugs. 1970 Nov-Dec;10(6):387–389. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Medical Journal are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES