1. Bipolar Disorder Slideshow Pictures
2. Bipolar Disorder (Mania) Quiz
3. Depression Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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In this Article

• Bipolar disorder facts
• What is bipolar disorder?
• What is the history of bipolar disorder?
• What are the types of bipolar disorder?
• What are bipolar disorder causes and risk factors?
• What are bipolar disorder symptoms and signs in adults, teenagers, and children?
• How is bipolar disorder diagnosed?
• What illnesses often coexist with bipolar disorder?
• What are bipolar disorder medications and other treatments? Are there any home remedies or alternative treatments for bipolar disorder?
• How is bipolar disorder treated during pregnancy and the postpartum period?
• What are complications and prognosis/effects over time of bipolar disorder?
• Can bipolar disorder be prevented?
• Where can people find more information about bipolar disorder?
• Where can people find support to help them cope with bipolar disorder?
• Bipolar Disorder (Mania) FAQs
• Patient Comments: Bipolar Disorder - Support
• Patient Comments: Bipolar Disorder - Types
• Patient Comments: Bipolar Disorder - Symptoms
• Patient Comments: Bipolar Disorder (Mania) - Effective Treatments
• Find a local Psychiatrist in your town
• Bipolar Disorder Index

When treating pregnant or postpartum individuals with bipolar disorder, health care professionals take great care to balance the need to maintain the person's stable mood and behavior while minimizing the risks that medications used to treat this disorder may present to the patient, developing fetus, or nursing infant. While many medications that treat bipolar disorder may carry risks to the fetus in pregnancy and during breastfeeding, careful monitoring of the amount of medication that is administered as well as the health of the fetus or infant and of the mother can go a long way toward protecting the fetus or infant from any such risks, while maximizing the chance that the fetus or infant will grow in the healthier environment inside or outside the womb afforded by an emotionally healthy mother.

While the prognosis for bipolar disorder indicates that individuals with this disorder can expect to experience episodes of some sort of mood problem up to 60% of the time, those episodes can be well managed by comprehensive treatment. There are a number of potential complications of bipolar disorder, particularly if left untreated. This illness may be compounded by other mental health problems including substance abuse and addiction. The risk of committing suicide is 60 times higher for people with bipolar disorder compared to the general population. Bipolar disorder is the fifth leading cause of disability and the ninth leading cause of years lost to death or disability worldwide.