Opinion: Mentally ill women need stronger support to become mothers

Meg LeDuc writes in an opinion piece that maternal mental-health needs of women with serious psychiatric conditions have been largely ignored in the United States.

She recounts her own history of schizophrenia, periods of medication non-adherence, and multiple overdoses, describing how these experiences made her question whether she could safely become a parent.

LeDuc cites the recent Lindsay Clancy trial as evidence that current reproductive psychiatry often fails to provide clear guidance for women seeking pregnancy while managing mental illness.

The author calls for a systematic increase in resources, counseling, and clinical support so that women with mental illness can make informed reproductive choices without stigma or coercion.