Pregnant and Depressed? Must Know Facts About Antidepressants

What happens when you’re pregnant and not bursting with joy? That’s the case for moms-to-be suffering from depression—and it’s very confusing to decide what you should do when you’re pregnant and depressed. I just read a fantastic but somewhat frightening article in The New Yorker about options for women dealing with this serious issue and the pressures they’re under to “do the right thing”  for their baby’s health and safety. The biggest problem? Nobody really knows what the right thing to do is.

Here’s the lowdown: A significant number of studies show that taking antidepressants in pregnancy (we’re talking commonly prescribed SSRIs like Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil, and others) can increase the risk of autism, some infant heart problems, low birth weight, and even a the possibility of an increased risk for miscarriage. None of this is comforting information, and could make women who suffer from depression think twice about continuing their treatment while they’re expecting.

On the flipside, another group of studies shows that babies born to women who suffer from unmanaged depression during pregnancy are also at risk. They may have fetal development problems, low birth weight, and be more likely to suffer from reduced cognitive abilities. There has also been shown to be a possible increased risk of miscarriage in pregnant women who suffer depression. As The New Yorker article points out, these are some of the same risks potentially posed by taking medication for anxiety or depression.

My takeaway from all of this is that women going through this have an incredibly difficult decision to make. Depression and anxiety are very real conditions, and believe me, if the women who suffer from them could just turn them off like a switch, or simply “be happier,” they would—no contest. But sadly these conditions don’t work like that.  Going off medication can be a very scary thing for moms-to-be suffering from anxiety or depression—especiall
y when they know that suffering the onslaught of their conditions without medication could lead to the same problems (or worse) than those that could affect their babes-to-be if they stayed on the meds. There’s no hard and fast answer here, so if you are planning a family or already expecting and you suffer from depression or anxiety, this is a decision you should make with the help of a trusted doctor, your partner, and your own gut feelings. You may decide to go a different way than other women you know who’ve been in your shoes, and that’s okay. You need to do what’s right for you. And if you know a woman who’s either going off her meds  or staying on them to manage her depression, hold the judgment, please! Even if you’ve lived with depression or anxiety, you can’t possibly know another woman’s situation and the very heart wrenching battles she is facing.