Antenatal and postnatal mental health

Update information

Minor changes since publication

August 2024: Changes have been made to the source guidance recommendation references to align with updated NICE guidelines on mental health. The guidelines were simplified by removing recommendations on general principles of care that are covered in other NICE guidelines.

June 2020: We added a link to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) temporary advice on the valproate pregnancy prevention programme during the COVID-19 pandemic to statement 1.

February 2020: We updated statement 1 to reflect changes to the NICE guideline on antenatal and postnatal mental health. Warnings have been updated in line with the 2018 MHRA safety advice on valproate use by women and girls.

July 2019: A link has been added to the rationale for statement 1 to the summary of NICE guidance and safety advice on valproate.

April 2018: Information has been added to statement 1 to update the advice and link to resources from the MHRA on the use of valproate in women and girls.