Antidepressants May Pose Great Risk to the Unborn, Expert Says

Lisa Franchi June 25, 2013

Whilst huge efforts are made to discourage pregnant women from smoking or drinking alcohol, there’s limited recommendation to avoid taking antidepressants, which appear to be carrying similar, if not greater risk to the child, according to an expert.

At eight months, Anna Wilson’s son, David, has already gone through 20 sessions of heart scan. When he was born, doctors told Mrs Wilson that her son had a serious heart problem and would need immediate surgery. Worse, his doctors said he may not live beyond 40. One of the cardiologists who scanned her baby said there were no environmental factors that could have affected the baby. It was just one of those things that could not be prevented.

Four years prior her pregnancy though, Mrs Wilson was prescribed Citalopram by her doctor because she was suffering from anxiety. Her GP said it’s fine to use the drug while trying to get pregnant. Whilst the actual cause has not been determined, there’s still a possibility that the condition of his son could be related to her antidepressant use.

Currently, prescription guidelines only warn specifically against the use of SSRI antidepressants in early pregnancy. But according to Professor Stephen Pilling, an expert adviser to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), it should also cover women in the child-bearing age, as most pregnancies are unplanned.

He said the risk posed by some popular antidepressant medications in early pregnancy is not worth taking. In his study, he found that taking antidepressants may actually double the risk of the baby being born with heart defects. He urged health authorities to update the advice given to pregnant women and include warning on the use of the said drugs.

He said the risk of any baby being born with heart defect is two in 100. But for those whose mums took antidepressants while pregnant, the risk increased to four in 100.

"You’ve got double the risk. And for women who are mild to moderately depressed, I don’t think that those risks, in most cases, are really worth taking"

He argued that women suffering from severe depression who become pregnant while taking SSRI medications are taking unnecessary risk. And for those who are mild to moderately depressed, Prof Pilling believes the risks are not really worth taking.

Source of this article:

Antidepressants ’could be risk to unborn babies’