Bereaved Parents Prescribed Meds Quickly, Stay on Meds Long-Term

0
411

MiA blogger Jeffrey Lacasse‘s study of psychiatric prescribing in response to perinatal/neonatal death (co-authored with Joanne Cacciatore) finds that 37% of participants in an online bereavement support community were prescribed meds. Of those, 80% were prescribed antidepressants, and 20% were prescribed benzodiazepines. 32% of prescriptions were written within 48 hours, 44% within a week and 75% within a month. Most of the prescriptions given shortly after the loss were prescribed by obstetricians or gynecologists, and most who were prescribed antidepressants ended up taking them long-term.

Abstract →

Lacasse, J., Cacciatore, J.; Prescribing of Psychiatric Medication to Bereaved Parents Following Perinatal/Neonatal Death: An Observational Study. Death. Online January 21, 2014.

Editor’s note:  An earlier version of this post was incorrect, saying that 80% of bereaved parents were prescribed meds.  37% were prescribed, with 80% of those receiving antidepressants.  We regret the error.

Previous articleJ&J Will Share Research Data,
Yale University to Oversee Access
Next articleBoth Older and Younger Parental Age Linked to Mental Health
Kermit Cole
Kermit Cole, MFT, founding editor of Mad in America, works in Santa Fe, New Mexico as a couples and family therapist. Inspired by Open Dialogue, he works as part of a team and consults with couples and families that have members identified as patients. His work in residential treatment — largely with severely traumatized and/or "psychotic" clients — led to an appreciation of the power and beauty of systemic philosophy and practice, as the alternative to the prevailing focus on individual pathology. A former film-maker, he has undergraduate and master's degrees in psychology from Harvard University, as well as an MFT degree from the Council for Relationships in Philadelphia. He is a doctoral candidate with the Taos Institute and the Free University of Brussels. You can reach him at [email protected].

LEAVE A REPLY