A Special Event to Showcase - The National Register of Antipsychotic Medication in Pregnancy (NRAMP)
The National Register of Antipsychotic Medication in Pregnancy (NRAMP) has been placed in the spotlight recently at a Showcase Event, which was held on Friday 29th July at the newly refurbished Monash Law Chambers in Melbourne’s CBD.
This special Event was staged to engender support for, and further expand and continue NRAMP, which is an observational, nationwide research study for women who are taking, or have taken, antipsychotic medication during pregnancy.
Eminent guests included senior management from several notable pharmaceutical companies (AstraZeneca, Janssen-Cilag, Lilly, Lundbeck, Hospira and Pfizer), plus consulting psychiatrists and obstetricians, members from the Victorian Department of Health, major hospital boards and area health services within Victoria. Some even travelled great distances, from Perth and Sydney, to attend.
The morning’s programme began with a warm Welcome and Introduction from Professor Jayashri Kulkarni, Director of the Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre (MAPrc), and the Chief Investigator for NRAMP. Professor Kulkarni then went on to provide a very comprehensive presentation of the structure and function of NRAMP, which included a snapshot of observations for the first 160 participants consented to take part in the study.
This was followed by an amazing presentation from Ms Mariska Meldrum, a current and past participant in NRAMP (Ms Meldrum has been involved in NRAMP twice, with two consecutive pregnancies and the subsequent delivery of two healthy babies). Ms Meldrum spoke bravely about her experiences during both pregnancies, particularly with regard to taking antipsychotic medication at this time. She was extremely well received, and her insights into the mix of mental health, pregnancy and antipsychotic medication encouraged much discussion amongst the audience.
To conclude the morning’s Event, a Case Study presentation was provided by Ms Heather Gilbert, who is the NRAMP Co-ordinator. Question time and general discussion followed, with lunch to complete the proceedings.
The general feeling was one of a very successful Event, with high hopes for continued and new support partners, in an effort to enhance the important work of this study into the future.
For further information about NRAMP, please contact Ms Heather Gilbert, NRAMP Co-ordinator, on (03) 9076-6591, or H.Gilbert@alfred.org.au
