SynthesisArchives of women's mental health2015
Electroconvulsive therapy during pregnancy: a systematic review of case studies.
Synthesis in Archives of women's mental health, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 128 citations in OpenAlex.
- Modified electroconvulsive therapy for perinatal depression: scoping review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Safety of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in pregnancy: a systematic review of case reports and case series.Archives of women's mental health · 2024Pooled it
- Evidence-based consensus guidelines for the management of catatonia: Recommendations from the British Association for Psychopharmacology.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2023Guideline
- Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment for peripartum depression: systematic review & meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2021Pooled it
- Review and Update of Anesthetic Management for Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Narrative Review.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2026Review
- Electroconvulsive Therapy and Hyperventilation: A Narrative Review.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Research Progress in the Treatment of Postpartum Depression.Cellular and molecular neurobiology · 2025Review
- Optimizing Psychological Health Across the Perinatal Period: An Update on Maternal Cardiovascular Health: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2025Review
- Perspectives in treatment-resistant depression: esketamine and electroconvulsive therapy.Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2025Review
- Safety of electroconvulsive therapy in the context of physiological and medical complexity: A state-of-the art review.PCN reports : psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2025Review
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Pregnancy: Efficacy, Safety, and Future Implications for Perinatal Mental Health Care.Brain and behavior · 2025Review
- Effects of yoga on depressive symptoms in women with pregnancy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Heliyon · 2025Article
- Advancements in Valproate Therapy for Seizures, Migraines, and Bipolar Disorders.Medical principles and practice : international journal of the Kuwait University, Health Science Centre · 2025Review
- Review
- Recent advances in electroconvulsive therapy in clinical practice and research.Faculty reviews · 2023Review
- Catatonia, Pregnancy, and Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT).Case reports in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Anesthetic care for electroconvulsive therapy.Anesthesia and pain medicine · 2022Review
- Antidepressant effect r TMS during pregnancy in a case of Major Depression Resistant to Pharmacological Treatment.Actas espanolas de psiquiatria · 2021Article
- Continuous Fetal Monitoring During Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Prospective Observation Study.International journal of women's health · 2021Article
- A common clinical conundrum: Antidepressant treatment of depression in pregnant women.Seminars in perinatology · 2020Review
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This study aims to explore practice, use, and risk of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in pregnancy. A systematic search was undertaken in the databases Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, SveMed and CINAHL (EBSCO). Only primary data-based studies reporting ECT undertaken during pregnancy were included. Two reviewers independently checked study titles and abstracts according to inclusion criteria and extracted detailed use, practice, and adverse effects data from full text retrieved articles. Studies and extracted data were sorted according to before and after year 1970, due to changes in ECT administration over time. A total of 67 case reports were included and studies from all continents represented. Altogether, 169 pregnant women were identified, treated during pregnancy with a mean number of 9.4 ECTs, at mean age of 29 years. Most women received ECT during the 2nd trimester and many were Para I. Main diagnostic indication in years 1970 to 2013 was Depression/Bipolar disorder (including psychotic depression). Missing data on fetus/child was 12 %. ECT parameter report was often sparse. Both bilateral and unilateral electrode placement was used and thiopental was the main anesthetic agent. Adverse events such as fetal heart rate reduction, uterine contractions, and premature labor (born between 29 and 37 gestation weeks) were reported for nearly one third (29 %). The overall child mortality rate was 7.1 %. Lethal outcomes for the fetus and/or baby had diverse associations. ECT during pregnancy is advised considered only as last resort treatment under very stringent diagnostic and clinical indications. Updated international guidelines are urgently needed.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.