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PREGNANCY AND ANTI-DEPRESSANTS
The BBC, reporting on a Danish study, warned that:
“Children born to women taking anti-depressants in
early pregnancy have a small but important
increased risk of heart defects.” The report was
based on 400,000 babies born between 1996 and
2003. The researchers concluded that septal heart
defects are more common in children whose
mothers were prescribed SSRI (selective serotonin
re-uptake inhibitors) in early pregnancy, particularly
Sertraline and Citalopram. The greatest risk is
associated with prescriptions of more than one
type of SSRI.
In some cases, the benefits of
anti-depressant treatment may
be considered to outweigh the
potential risks
The NHS Knowledge service gives a detailed
breakdown of this study on its website and
concludes that, given many other factors that may
have influenced the study: “It is important to note
that the absolute increase in the risk of a child being
affected is small – i.e. less than 1%” and
commented:
“In general, doctors try to avoid
prescribing drugs for pregnant women in case there
are effects on the baby. However, depression is a
serious illness and, in some cases, the benefits of
anti-depressant treatment may be considered to
outweigh the potential risks.”
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