INSIGHT
Pregnancy dilemma: antidepressants and depression may both harm a fetus






A US jury's decision that an antidepressant caused heart defects in an
unborn baby is highlighting the painful dilemma facing pregnant women
with depression. The most common antidepressants have been linked
to birth defects and miscarriage, yet some doctors fear that letting
depressive symptoms go untreated may have long-term consequences for
the mother and her unborn baby.
On 15 October, a jury in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ordered manufacturer
GlaxoSrnithKline to pay $2.5 million to the family of 3-year-old Lyam Kilker,
who was born with serious heart defects. While pregnant, Kilker's
mother took the antidepressant paroxetine (Seroxat or Paxil),
which belongs to the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressants,
known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Doctors try to avoid giving drugs to pregnant women,
but Kilker's mother is not unusual. Antidepressants are increasingly
being prescribed during pregnancy, particularly in the US,
where 13 per cent of pregnant women took them in 2003.
The trend reflects an increase in heir use in the general population:
often a woman is already taking antidepressants when she becomes
pregnant. Awareness is also growing of the potential risks of not
treating depression during pregnancy, on the child as well as
the mother. Last year, a large study showed that children whose
mother had been depressed
Taking antidepressants while pregnant is increasingly common At the same time,
evidence is growing that SSRIs may harm fetuses. While some studies
have found SSRIs have no effect, others find that they increase
the chance of fetal heart defects and of miscarriage.

What do you think?
http://healthcareman-dobi.blogspot.com/search/label/pregnancy