Antidepressants/SSRI use during pregnancy: (Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)

Including but not limited to prozac, zoloft, celexa, lexapro …

​Did you know that 10-20% of women will present with a major depressive disorder during pregnancy and the immediate postpartum period and 5 to 13% of these women will be treated with an SSRI.

Through research, SSRIs have been shown to cross the placenta. Especially during the 3rd trimester which leads to an increased risk in SSRI withdrawal like syndrome in the newborn. The symptoms are as follows:

• Temperature instability
• Irritability
• Tremors
• Poor suck
• Poor feeding
• Hypertonia
• Respiratory distress
• Seizures
• Sleep disturbances
• Increased tremulousness
• Exaggerated startle reflex (which we know as the moro reflex)
• Persisting tremors 6-40 months of age
• Reduced range of state of less than half (asleep or awake - sluggish)
• Increased motor activity during sleep
• Greater autonomic dysregulation

Exposure to SSRI in pregnancy has been associated with

• Miscarriage
• Premature delivery
• Neonatal complications
• Birth defects- specifically autism spectrum disorders
• Significant association with fetal brain development

So what can you do?
Its important you weigh up all options and research yourself to understand the risks. However sometimes you have to do what you need to do, because the other option could be worse for you. If you must use these during pregnancy then pregnant women exposed to any SSRI in early pregnancy can ask to be offered options through regular ultrasound examination and fetal echocardiography to detect the presence of birth defects.
At Sprouting Health we all practice using Neuro Emotional technique which can help make manage your stress physiology. We are here to help you at any step in your journey of pregnancy and life. Please talk to the team about this if it interests you.


References:
Alwan, S., Friedman, J. M., & Chambers, C. (2016). Safety of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors in Pregnancy: A Review of
Current Evidence. CNS drugs, 30(6), 499–515. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40263-016-0338-3
Lugo-Candelas, C., Cha, J., Hong, S., Bastidas, V., Weissman, M., Fifer, W. P., Myers, M., Talati, A., Bansal, R., Peterson, B. S., Monk, C., Gingrich, J. A., & Posner, J. (2018). Associations Between Brain Structure and Connectivity in Infants and Exposure to Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors During Pregnancy. JAMA pediatrics, 172(6), 525–533.
https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.5227