Lithium in the Perinatal Period:

Navigating Risks & Benefits

A FREE Workshop for Healthcare Professionals

• Date: 19 March 2025
• Time: 19:00 – 20:00 (Online)

The use of lithium in pregnancy and postpartum presents unique challenges, requiring a careful balance of risks and benefits. This CPD-accredited workshop, led by Dr. Elsa Du Toit, will equip healthcare professionals with evidence-based insights and practical strategies for managing lithium in perinatal mental health care.

Who should attend?
Psychiatrists, obstetricians, general practitioners, mental health professionals, and any healthcare providers involved in perinatal care.

What you'll learn:

• Deepen your knowledge of lithium’s role in pregnancy and postpartum care
• Understand pharmacological changes during pregnancy and how they impact lithium metabolism
• Gain practical strategies for patient monitoring, dose adjustments, and risk management
• Engage in interactive discussions with experts and peers

MODULE 1: Understanding Lithium use in perinatal psychiatry

✔ History of Lithium: Its role in psychiatry over the decades
✔ Key indications: Why lithium remains a critical treatment for bipolar disorder and severe mood disorders
✔ Perinatal benefits: How lithium prevents mood and psychotic relapses during pregnancy and postpartum
✔ Pharmacology & mechanism of action – Understanding how lithium works in the brain
✔ Live group discussion & Q&A

MODULE 2: Challenges of Lithium use during pregnancy & postpartum

✔ Risks for mother & baby: Teratogenic effects, neonatal complications, and other concerns
✔ Lithium & pregnancy: Changes in absorption, metabolism, and excretion and their clinical implications
✔ Key physiological Considerations:

• Thyroid function & Lithium
• Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus
• Managing severe nausea & vomiting in the first trimester
• Breastfeeding & Lithium: Evaluating risks & making informed choicesFluid & hormonal shifts at birth
• Live group discussion & Q&A

MODULE 3: Clinical Management & Best Practices

✔ Shared Decision-Making: Risk-benefit counseling & patient autonomy
✔ Multidisciplinary Collaboration: Working with obstetricians, midwives, and mental health teams
✔ Monitoring & Treatment Strategies:

• Baseline blood tests & ECG before initiation
• Dose adjustments during pregnancy & postpartum
• Monitoring thyroid, renal function, and mental health
• Live Group Discussion & Q&A