Quetiapine (first trimester)

[CraftyZebra]

Hi,
just wondering if anyone had any experiences of taking quetiapine/seroquel while pregnant?
Thanks!

Hi

i took it throughout pregnancy with no issues except having to increase the dosage in the 3rd trimester due to increased size and blood volume essentially diluting it. I had to stay in hospital slightly longer as they have to monitor baby for withdrawal but he’s absolutely fine. He did have a small twitch for 36 hours after birth but he’s fabulous now

I will say I’ve since had to come off as I now can’t function with wake ups in the evening on it but it doesn’t affect everyone the same

I have been on quetiapine for 12 years through one successful pregnancy and 2 losses.

Quetiapine is safe in pregnancy and not linked to miscarriage. You might find it's less effective in the third trimester and need your dose adjusting as your blood volume increases, I was ok but had been stable for some time before ttc. It comes with a slightly increased risk of poor neonatal adaptation syndrome post natally it's sometimes referred to as withdrawal but babies not exposed to medication can also get it. This is when babies struggle to adjust to being in the outside world it happens to about 1 in 10 babies but some medication including quetiapine makes the risk 2-3 in 10 babies. Due to this I was kept in for 3 days after having my daughter. Every 4h she had her temperature, pulse, oxygen levels monitored plus other things I wasn't aware of. They had a list of things to check. My daughter scored 0 (no concern) on every check over the 3 days and we went home.
I breastfeed on it too.

It might be worth asking for a perinatal mental health referral. I was under the team in pregnancy and they put in my birth plan that if possible I should have a side room rather than being in a bay and I could get extra support overnight if the quetiapine made be groggy but I didn't need it. The side room meant I wasn't as disturbed by other people and their babies so it did help me get rest.

2 living children. No problems with it dosage was 150mg. Tapered down to 75mg so I could BF safely for 2 months. Then went back to normal.

Thank you all for the reassurance

Just to add depending on the situation you don't necessarily have to reduce the dose to breastfeed. I was on 400mg when I started breastfeeding and had gone up to 800mg by the time I stopped. This was under the care of two perinatal psychiatrist - one outpatient and the other inpatient with a full term baby.

Super helpful 💓 I’m 10 weeks pregnant and the midwife spoke at length about me on quetapine and so far she said just keep taking it. They did say as the pregnancy progresses they might need to assess my situation but I shouldn’t worry

Hi Firestonelee, sending you positive vibes. Hopefully your journey has been good!

@Superscientist your right my post wasn't clear. I went back up to my normal dosage and still bf safely.

No concerns from a growth and development perspective right?

@CraftyZebra you mean in utero or now the kids are older?

My lo is now 4.5 and started school at 4 and a few weeks in September and thriving!
She does have multiple food allergies and severe silent reflux - not related to the quetiapine which at times have caused issues with her development mostly when she was a newborn and the allergies hadn't been diagnosed and the reflux was been under treated.
She's dinky and spent from 2-4 on the 1st-2nd percentiles. She's grown a little recently and is now on the 4th! I'm only 5ft2 and was always on the 2nd percentile too so this is likely to be genetics rather than meds in pregnancy

Nope mine are nearly as tall as me and doing well at school. A mentally balanced mummy is more important than a mum who is going through withdrawal and having chronic anxiety and depression. The risk of me coming of the meds far outweighed my risk of taking them 🙂

Thank you all for the reassurance, sorry for all the validation seeking. New to this so just really nervous 😅 trying to do my best as a first time mum

@CraftyZebra this is what this part of Mumsnet is for! Pregnancy and parenthood is a minefield of emotions and doubts!