Pregnant women who are taking anti-depressants for important reasons are quite in a dilemma. Withdrawing from anti-depressants may mean suppression of the depression treatment, but continual use may mean harming the baby. So which is the wise thing to do? Withdraw or continue?
It is important that Depression during pregnancy has to be treated. Once it is not treated, there is a need to take optimal prenatal care, eat more healthy foods that the baby needs and then more energy to care of yourself. There is a possibility to engage in smoking or drinking alcohol. All these may result to premature birth, low birth weight and an increased risk of postpartum depression for you. There is a difficulty in bonding with the baby as well.
The use of antidepressants for pregnant women is approved by most medical practitioners because of the above mentioned reasons. Nonetheless, there must be valid reasons before pregnant women are given the permission to take anti-depressants. Some of these according to Web MD are:
- You have a history of severe or recurrent depression
- You have a history of other mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder
- You have ever been suicidal
There should be a balance between risks and benefits when taking the antidepressants. Some pregnant mothers went through the process successfully without the anti-depressants. Some of the alternatives are: having counseling or talking to a therapist on a regular basis, exercise regularly, relaxing outside, doing yoga and meditation, and doing anything to minimize stress.
In case of an extreme need of antidepressant, the following are the drugs approved by medical practitioners: citalopram (Celexa), fluoxetine (Prozac) and sertraline (Zoloft). Some studies say that taking any of these drugs still have risks but are extremely low. The point is, there is always a possibility of having birth defects. It is always best to be guided accordingly by your Obstetrician for the whole pregnancy journey.
