Jun 02, 2008 01:00 AM

In 2007, researchers of Maine Medical Center performed a study as to whether electroshock is safe during pregnancy. The result? The scientists found that, in one pregnant woman, electroshock caused brain damage to the baby (Source: Jacquelyn Blackstone and others).

Electroshock is a psychiatric treatment that involves electrocution of the patient and putting the patient into a seizure. Mainstream psychiatry alleges that electroshock is therapeutic and alleviates mental illness. Electroshock is also known by the euphemism electroconvulsive therapy or ECT. Many electroshock patients receive the treatment against their will. Psychiatrists also claim that electroshock is safe during pregnancy and give the treatment to pregnant women.

However, scientists at Maine Medical Center found otherwise. The researchers were Michael G. Pinette, Camille Santarpio, Joseph R. Wax, and Jacquelyn Blackstone, all members of the Division of Maternal–Fetal Medicine, in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. (Obstetrics is the branch of medicine that studies and works in pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood. Gynecology is the branch of medicine that studies and works in the healthcare of women.) In their report, the scientists stated, “A primigravida [or woman in her first pregnancy] underwent multiple electroconvulsive treatments during pregnancy for the diagnosis of major depression. The infant was subsequently born with multiple deep interhemispheric infarcts.” (An infarct is a region of dead or dying tissue, caused by insufficient blood circulation.) So, in other words, electroshocking the pregnant woman caused brain damage to the baby.

The scientists concluded, “Despite reassuring statements regarding the safety of electroconvulsive therapy, this case report and a review of the literature suggests that electroconvulsive therapy during pregnancy should be performed with caution.” The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists published the report on its Web site and in its scientific periodical “Obstetrics & Gynecology.”

This study is a major blow to the propaganda in favor of electroshock. Contradicting the claim that electroshock is safe during pregnancy, this study found that it can cause physical injury to the baby.

A previous study, published in 2006, found that electroshock causes cognitive impairments to the patient (Source: Harold A Sackeim and others). However, no study has yet been published that determines whether electroshock is injurious to the patient, even though many survivors of electroshock say they have been injured by the treatment.

What you can do: Call Michael G. Pinette, the lead researcher, and his colleagues at Maine Medical Center and ask them to do another study, a study as to whether electroshock causes brain damage to the patient. Ask them to do neuroimagery or a “brain scan” on women before and after electroshock.

If the scientists find that electroshock causes physical brain damage, it would be among the first evidence of its kind, would make Pinette and his colleagues famous, and would help protect patients from the torture of involuntary electroshock. The telephone number is (207) 771-5549. Ask for Pinette or one of his colleagues. If you are unable to reach them, then leave a message on the answering machine.

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List of Sources

Author: Jacquelyn Blackstone, Michael G. Pinette, Camille Santarpio, Joseph R. Wax. Web page: “Electroconvulsive Therapy in Pregnancy.” Web site: “Obstetrics & Gynecology.” Date: 2007. Institution: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Date of access: February 9, 2008. Web address: <http://greenjournal.org/cgi/content/short/110/2/465>.

Author: Harold A Sackeim and others. Web page: “The Cognitive Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy in Community Settings.” Web site: “Neuropsychopharmacology.” Date: August 23, 2006. Institution: American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. Date of access: April 21, 2008. Web address: <http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v32/n1/full/1301180a.html>.