Antidepressant use during pregnancy: 5 things to remember

Depression and other mental health conditions can be serious, and many women need to take medications during pregnancy to appropriately manage their symptoms. Abruptly stopping the use of medications to treat these conditions can have serious consequences.

“Women should talk to a healthcare provider to make informed decisions based on their individual situation. Of course, ideally women would discuss treatment options for depression and other health conditions before pregnancy,” said Jennita Reefhuis, MD, epidemiologist with CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.

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According to Dr Reefhuis, there are 5 important points to remember when using antidepressants during pregnancy:

• Depression and other mental health conditions can be serious. Many women need to take antidepressants during pregnancy to appropriately manage their symptoms.

• Abruptly stopping the use of medications, such as antidepressants, can have serious consequences. Women should not change medications or stop taking medications without first talking with a healthcare provider about available treatment options.

• Researchers found some birth defects occur about 2 or 3 times more frequently among babies born to women who took fluoxetine and paroxetine early in pregnancy.

• Researchers did not confirm 5 previously reported links between sertraline, the most commonly used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) in this US study population, and any birth defects observed in previous studies.

• Despite the observed links between certain birth defects and some SSRIs found in this study, the actual risk for a birth defect among babies born to women taking one of these medications is still very low. Because these specific types of birth defects are rare, even doubling the risk still results in a low absolute risk.

In a CDC-funded study published in The BMJ, Dr Reffhuis and researchers assessed several previously reported links between SSRI use and birth defects using more recent data and results from previously published independent studies. Researchers found some birth defects occur about 2 or 3 times more frequently among babies born to women who took certain SSRI medications, such as fluoxetine and paroxetine, early in pregnancy.

 

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