Prestigious NIH grant for research on antipsychotic drug use during pregnancy
Marion van den Heuvel, together with colleagues from Erasmus MC and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, received a prestigious grant from the US National Institutes of Health. With the grant, the research team will study the effect of prenatal exposure to antipsychotics on child development.
In recent years, the use of antipsychotic medication in pregnant women has increased, but its effectiveness and effects on the child have not yet been well studied in clinical cohort studies. To ensure that women can make informed decisions about their care during pregnancy, this study examines the effectiveness of antipsychotic medication in pregnant women with severe mental illness and possible effects of antipsychotic medication on fetal, newborn and child development.
From Erasmus MC, Astrid Kamperman and Eline Poels (Department of Psychiatry), and Hilmar Bijma (Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mother and Child Center) will be involved in the project, with support from Nicola Westerbeek. Neuropsychologist Marion van den Heuvel of Tilburg University is contributing her expertise regarding the use of EEG measurements in young children.
Funding for this 5-year project comes from the R01 grant; a large grant awarded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). The project started on June 1, 2023.