Being off lithium while pregnant might prove to be a bigger risk to you than to a baby if you were on lithium.

BUT here's what you have to think about: if you were to continue lithium and it did cause birth defects how would that effect your mental health.

I think that lithium mostly causes heart defects that require surgery and you really need to think about how taking care of a child with those problems would effect your stress levels and your bipolar disorder. What if there are other complications? This is something you really need to talk to your doctor about - what are the chances of a birth defect. What kind of birth defects, what could be the best outcome and the worst outcome. How much care would your child need and for how long. Is it something that could potentially be a life long issue where you'll need to provide a constant level of support and care?