Electroconvulsive Therapy: Clinical Uses, Efficacy & Long-Term Health Effects

This book begins with a basic sequential guide to the clinical procedures of Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in common circumstances. ECT is currently the most efficacious treatment for severe depression, and several researchers have reported anatomical, chemical and functional alterations after ECT. It is becoming increasingly well-established that maternal mental illness has a significant impact on the development of the foetus as well as the ability of the mother to parent her baby. For some women with severe mental illness in pregnancy, pharmacological therapy can be problematic with a delay to response and therefore risk to maternal morbidity and mortality as well as the risks of this to the foetus. ECT has long been used as a treatment for severe mental illness and in some cases it may offer a viable option for treating these more severe disorders in pregnancy. This book discusses the clinical uses, the efficacy and the long-term health effects ECT has on patients.