Information on pregnancy and birth complications was collected for 46 patients with DSM-IIIR schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and for 23 normal controls. Pregnancy complications were more frequent and birth complications more frequent and more severe in schizophrenics than in bipolar patients or in normal controls. In contrast with other findings in the literature, more obstetric complications (OCs) were found in female than male schizophrenic patients.