Anti-depressant Pregnancy Concern

Use of a Type of Anti-depressant Medication During Pregnancy May Increase the Risk of Birth Defects Such as Cleft Palate, Research Suggests.

BBC News
September 1, 2005

Danish and US scientists found use of SSRIs in the first three months of pregnancy was linked to a 40% increased risk - but the results are preliminary.

Cardiac defects appeared to be 60% more likely when the women used SSRIs.

But the researchers stress the results, featured in Pulse magazine, do not mean women should stop taking the drugs.

The findings were presented an International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology conference.

SSRIs, or Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors, include commonly prescribed drugs such as Prozac and Seroxat. They work by boosting levels of the mood chemical serotonin in the brain.

Their use during pregnancy was linked to withdrawal symptoms in newborn babies in a study published in The Lancet earlier this year.

And doctors have been told not to prescribe them to children because of an increased risk of suicide.

Balancing risk
In the latest study, focusing on 1,054 women who took SSRIs during pregnancy, scientists also found that use of the drugs late in pregnacy was associated with a 40% increased risk of premature birth.

And a second study of 377 cases of persistent pulmonary hypertension in babies found SSRI use late in pregnancy was linked a 5.5-fold increased risk.

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