Autism has been a big topic that worries a lot of pregnant women and because of this, there were a lot of studies done about it. In 2014, researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Researchers have found that antidepressant drugs taken by pregnant women has a link to autism for boys and now, a new study has supported this claim.
A more recent study following this has revealed that autism in children is caused by antidepressants that were taken by mothers during their pregnancy. Pregnant women are usually given a prescription of antidepressants by doctors to prevent pregnancy depression.
The result of this study that was published in JAMA Pediatrics is something alarming since it recorded an 87-percent risk for children to have autism. Mothers who were taking the prescription in the second and third trimester have higher risks.
The reason behind the risk is when mothers take antidepressants their serotonin hormones are inhibited. This kind of hormone is very important during the pre and postnatal development of the child's brain. By inhibiting serotonin, their brain won't develop properly and may lead to autism.
According to Science Daily, professor Anick Berard from the Université de Montréal and the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre who led the research said, "Our study has established that taking antidepressants during the second or third trimester of pregnancy almost doubles the risk that the child will be diagnosed with autism by age 7." He added, "Especially if the mother takes selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, often known by its acronym SSRIs."
Berard even suggested that those mothers who are experiencing pregnancy depression in the critical period (2nd and 3rd trimesters) should consider another option for treatment because of the increasing evidence of autism that was shown in the study result. With the result of this study, all women who are planning to get pregnant should think about other options in treating pregnancy depression rather than taking antidepressants.
