Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) during pregnancy: a fetal risk factor

Objective: To examine reports of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) during pregnancy for evidence of fetal risk.

Method: PubMed was used to locate relevant literature for the years 1998–2020 and reference lists were examined for materials not located electronically.

Results: Ten reports were located dealing with 67 births over 20 years. Stimulation was applied is all trimesters, at low and high frequency, and as intermittent theta-burst stimulation. No mother or baby experienced a serious event.

Conclusions: Certainty awaits large, standardized studies. However, the available reports provide no evidence that TMS to mother during pregnancy has detrimental effects on the fetus.