The Hypocritical Oath? Unintended Consequences of Prenatal Substance Use Policies and Considerations for Health Care Providers.

Prenatal substance use (PSU) is a serious perinatal health issue in the United States with consequential health effects. To address this issue and protect children from the detrimental effects of substance exposure during pregnancy, the US government amended the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to provide funding to states with protocol to notify child protective services of PSU cases and develop treatment plans for affected families. Although well-intentioned, this statute resulted in diverse inter- and intrastate interpretations and implementation of PSU regulations nationwide, ultimately leading to mass confusion about who the policy applies to and when it should be applied.

Obsessive-compulsive symptom trajectories from pregnancy through the postpartum: examining longitudinal course and risk factors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose: The peripartum is a time of increased risk for the development or worsening of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms. Existing evidence suggests that OC symptoms commonly surge immediately postpartum followed by a gradual recovery. Yet how societal conditions, such as a widespread public health crisis, may affect this pattern remains unknown.

How often do awake craniotomies in children and adolescents lead to panic and worry?

Purpose: Awake craniotomy (AC) is the treatment of choice for the resection of brain tumors within eloquent brain regions for adults, but not much is known about its psychological impact on children and adolescents. Patient immaturity and difficulty in cooperating during surgery could result in psychological sequelae postoperatively, such as anxiety, panic, and worry.

Methods: In this review, we examined eight studies assessing AC performed on patients under 18 years of age (N = 85), noting exclusion criteria, interventions used, and psychological assessments implemented.