A study made by medical researchers and doctors from Helsinki University Children's Hospital recently strengthened arguments that when pregnant women use anti-depressants, their children may develop fetal and development problems.
Dr. Sampsa Vanhatalo, one of the researchers behind the study, says that anti-depressants can affect the brain activity of newborns. Their study is groundbreaking because it is the first to examine the effects of SRI-exposure on the brain activity of newborns. The findings are based on the results of observations and monitoring of 22 mothers who used SRI (serotonin reuptake inhibitors) medication, and 62 controls without medication. The focus of the study was to determine how fetal SRI drug exposure or psychiatric symptoms in mothers affect the neurological development of babies and the electrical activity of their brains.
The findings of the study are very important because they point towards the necessity for doctors to exercise greater caution when making recommendations for drug therapy for cases of depression involving pregnant women. It also gives added urgency to the argument by some quarters in the medical profession that non-pharmacological interventions should first be explored when treating depression and anxiety issues during pregnancy.
The findings show that the brain activity of newborns of mothers who took anti-depressants indicate less -organized communication between the brain hemispheres. The cortical rhythms of the same newborns also show weaker synchronization.
The implications of the study somewhat go against the accepted practice of allowing pregnant women to take SRIs to treat depression. Certain selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are recommended during pregnancy, along with serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), and tricyclic antidepressants.
Earlier research have it that the use of citalopram, fluoxetine and sertraline - types of anti-depressant medications - may cause a rare but serious newborn lung problems such as persistent pulmonary hypertension when mothers take them during the last half of pregnancy.
