Can You Take Antidepressants While Pregnant?
How to Read Studies on the Topic
Before you look at the potential dangers of antidepressants during pregnancy, it's important to understand how to interpret the information in research on the subject. Negative news always tends to spread more swiftly, particularly on social media.
Instead, ask this question: Did the researchers consider other health conditions -- such as smoking or obesity -- that could also affect study results?
Also, "women who take antidepressants are different than women who don't. They have other risk factors that can lead to problems during pregnancy. So is it the mental illness or the actual medication that causes the risks?" Dolan says.
Reported Dangers to the Baby
Among the most publicized risks of taking an antidepressant during pregnancy is persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN). It's a life-threatening condition in which a baby has high blood pressure in the lungs, causing severe breathing problems.
Scientists first linked it to the use of SSRIs in 2006, prompting the FDA to issue a warning about it. Five years and five conflicting studies later, the FDA revised its statement, saying "it is premature to reach any conclusion about a possible link between SSRI use in pregnancy and PPHN." Since then, a handful of reviews, including one in June, have further reassured pregnant women that the risk is "statistically insignificant."
"Our study by no means says that antidepressant use is safe during pregnancy. It is just that, for this outcome, we do not find an increased risk of PPHN," says Huybrechts, who co-authored the study.
Another concern for moms-to-be taking these meds is the chance of heart defects in the baby. The FDA warned in 2005 that paroxetine (Paxil) could lead to holes and other structure problems in a newborn's heart. But a study published last year didn't confirm the risk.
About 3 in 10 babies born to moms who have taken SSRI have a temporary condition called poor neonatal adaption syndrome. Symptoms include:
- Jitteriness
- Low blood sugar
- Poor muscle tone
- Seizures
- Weak cry
Still, in at least one study, researchers say they don’t believe it causes long-lasting effects in a child.