Most women are thrilled when they find out they’ve got a bun in the oven, but moms-to-be that are on anti-depressants tend to fret about if it’s safe to keep taking the medicines during pregnancy. According to John Hopkins Medicine, it is perfectly safe to keep taking antidepressants such as SSRIs during pregnancy and there is no need to worry about potential birth defects.
In fact, a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry suggests that going off antidepressants can actually be harmful to both mother and baby. Hamideh Bayrampour, who works at the Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia, teamed up with a few colleagues to see if there are any risks associated with going off medications for mood disorders during pregnancy. Previously, studies about antidepressants and pregnancy usually focused on what, if any, risks there are to the fetus if the mother continues taking her medication.
Bayrampour and his team were curious to explore another side of the equation: what the effects of tapering off medication for mood disorders might be. The researchers poured over four databases of scientific information that was recent as of March 2019. They then read through 2,172 English-language studies that looked at pregnant women who decided to go off their anti-depressants either before or during pregnancy. Bayrampour and the others also read studies about how depression in pregnancy can affect a child’s behavior as they grow up.
Their research revealed that in general, women that discontinued their medication don’t have a higher risk of relapsing than women who decided to keep taking it. However, they did find out that women who have been diagnosed with severe depression do have a higher risk of relapsing with the same symptoms. In some cases, the severe depression even came back stronger than it had been before. The researchers added that women with mild to moderate depression don’t seem to be very prone to relapsing or having their mood disorder get worse if they taper off.
Bayrampour hopes that his team’s findings will help doctors and their patients make the right call during pregnancy or figure out an alternative treatment plan. For example, their psychiatrist might taper them off to a low dosage and help them find a therapist in the area. “Women with severe or recurrent depression should be made aware of the chance of relapsing if they discontinue antidepressants,” he told Healio Psychiatry. “Doctors should closely monitor these women for any sign of relapse too.”
Source: Healio Psychiatry, John Hopkins Medicine