Perinatal Psychopharmacology: From Data to Decision

Make clearer, safer decisions in one of medicine’s most uncertain spaces

In perinatal care, the hardest decisions often sit in the grey zone, where evidence, emotion and risk collide.

This workshop gives you a structured, practical system to interpret data accurately, avoid common misjudgments and make confident, defensible clinical decisions.

Because the goal isn’t to eliminate uncertainty, it’s to learn how to navigate it. 

Why this course matters

Too often, clinicians:

  • Overestimate the risks of medication
  • Underestimate the risks of untreated illness
  • Misinterpret neonatal outcomes
  • Feel uncertain when facing rare but serious complications

This course helps you cut through the noise, so your decisions are grounded in evidence, not fear.

What you’ll learn

By the end of this series, you will be able to:

  • Critically interpret perinatal psychopharmacology data
  • Apply research findings to real clinical scenarios
  • Balance maternal and neonatal risk with clarity
  • Make and justify decisions, even under uncertainty

Course Sessions

Session 1: When is medication the risk?

Rethinking assumptions in pregnancy
We often get it backwards, overestimating medication risk while underestimating illness.
Learn how to distinguish between the two with clarity and precision.

Session 2: Neonatal outcomes

What the data says vs What it means
NICU admissions and neonatal adaptation are frequently misunderstood.
This session shows you how to separate signal from noise.

Session 3: Rare but feared outcomes

Navigating high-stakes risk in perinatal care
When risks are rare but serious, decisions can become emotionally driven.
Learn a framework to manage both uncertainty and fear effectively.

Session 4: Maternal outcomes

The risk we underestimate
The greatest danger is often untreated illness.
Develop the skill to recognise and weigh maternal risk appropriately.

What my clients have to say!


”

The workshop was extremely beneficial and has improved my prescribing knowledge and inspired me to do more reading on maternal mental health topics and women's mental health in general.

-Pharmacology Attendee


”

This has been a topic I’ve been longing for in a workshop as it’s a special interest area of mine, and providing evidence-based treatment in this part of a woman’s life is so important and so poorly understood by most doctors.


-Pharmacology Attendee


”

I found the content was expertly curated, highly informative & addressed the complexities of medication management during pregnancy and the postpartum. I especially appreciated the balance between evidence-based guidance and practical case examples which made the material both accessible and clinically relevant. I feel more confident in supporting my patients and families during this critical time.


-Pharmacology Attendee

Led by Dr. Elsa du Toit

25 years in medicine

15 years focused on perinatal psychiatry

 

Dr. du Toit brings a unique combination of deep clinical expertise and holistic thinking about maternal and family health.

But what really sets this masterclass apart is the focus on how decisions get made in complex clinical systems, not just what the guidelines say, but how to navigate the human, organisational and ethical realities that make perinatal care so challenging.

This is high-level clinical mastery for practitioners who are ready to lead, consult, and make confident decisions in the most complex situations.