Abstract
Reproductive psychiatry, as a medical subspecialty, focuses on women’s potential psychiatric symptoms during times of hormonal change. Worldwide, women bear a disproportionately large burden of mental illness with rates of depression that are twice as high as those in men and elevated levels of almost all anxiety disorders. For the 30–40 years between menarche and menopause, women experience hormonal fluctuations monthly with their menstrual cycle; significant hormonal shifts with each pregnancy and postpartum period; and erratic hormone changes during perimenopause. Many women experience infertility or pregnancy loss as well. All of these hormonal changes can leave women vulnerable to psychiatric symptoms of mood, anxiety, and thought disorders. This chapter describes the emerging field of reproductive psychiatry, including training programs, opportunities for continuing education, and the basics of screening and assessment. It also highlights the clinical, ethical, and legal challenges of psychopharmacology in women’s mental health, particularly in pregnant or breastfeeding women.
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Dossett, E.C. (2014). The Role of Reproductive Psychiatry in Women’s Mental Health. In: Barnes, D. (eds) Women's Reproductive Mental Health Across the Lifespan. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05116-1_16
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