Antidepressants And Birth Defects

Taking anti-depressants during pregnancy may put unborn children at risk of heart disease, cleft lip, cleft palate and malformed limbs. Although there’s no studies confirming this issue yet, there’s enough of a link between the medication and these problems that the Food and Drug Administration recommends pregnant women not take these drugs. These risks apply equally to all pregnant mothers; any woman who has been prescribed anti-depressants and is considering bearing children should consider these recommendations. These concerns are particularly important to women who aren’t currently pregnant but haven’t ruled out the possibility of having children in the future. These women might not feel the need to consider effects on their children when they first start the medication because they aren’t planning on having children, but if they become pregnant in the future, the medication can still have an effect on the fetus.

According to the FDA, mothers who take Paxil during the first three months of pregnancy are more likely to have children who have heart defects or other birth defects. The FDA recommends that women who are pregnant or planning to get pregnant don’t take Paxil, and that women who become pregnant switch to a different anti-depressant as soon as possible.

There are no firm statistics as to how many babies this problem affects each year; however, a 2007 study showed that 50 percent of pregnant women were unaware of how prescription drugs might affect their unborn children.
The FDA doesn’t currently have any studies demonstrating the strength of the link between the use of Paxil and heart defects or other congenital defects. Until such studies can be carried out, the FDA recommends that women who are pregnant or may become pregnant don’t take Paxil unless the benefit of taking the medication outweighs the risk. If a woman has a serious depression or anxiety issue that could lead to suicide or harm to the fetus if left untreated, the FDA recommends the woman take Paxil; otherwise, the woman should switch to another antidepressant or stop taking antidepressants altogether during pregnancy.
The FDA concentrates its warning on Paxil; however, there are no studies confirming that other antidepressants pose less of a risk to the unborn fetus than Paxil does. In addition, depressed women may not react as well to other antidepressants as to Paxil. Thus, women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant should discuss concerns about anti-depressants with their doctor.