Q&A: Wild mood swings with pregnancy?

by Dr. Gerard M. DiLeo

My daughter-in-law is starting her second trimester and is having wild mood swings. They are so severe that she wants a divorce and an abortion. She is completely out of character, and we are afraid she may harm someone. This happened in her first pregnancy, too. Is there any help for this imbalance? How common is this? Before pregnancy she found relief with L-phenylalanine. Can this be taken now?

First, let's talk about the phenylalanine. If concentrations of this are too high, the baby could have problems with brain development. So a treatment regimen of this for her mood swings is not advisable.

Now for the much more serious part. These aren't just mood swings you're talking about. This sounds more like a psychiatric condition. When a person is "not herself" to the point of divorce or hurting others, this person needs psychiatric intervention without fail. Yes, there are medications she can take, approved by a specialist in maternal-fetal medicine, of course.

Forget the phenylalanine -- she needs to see a psychiatrist, psychologist, or at least a social worker. As soon as possible! This regression of behavior isn't normal and is probably a variation of postpartum depression -- even though she hasn't delivered yet.

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