Depression, Medication and Pregnancy

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Among the many medical disorders that can affect women who get pregnant, depression is one of the most common. About 10 – 20% of women will have episodes of depression throughout their lives; depression during the time of pregnancy is no exception. Many are being treated with medications or other types of therapies for depression. The following question is very common: What do I do about my depression? How do I treat it? Do I have to stop my medicine? Do I have to change my medicine?

During pregnancy when one is depressed, one needs to consider the risks of taking medications. Although they are very, very rare, some antidepressant medications have been known to cause risks associated with pregnancy, However, they do exist. Some of these risks can occur to the baby after the baby has been born forcing the baby to withdrawal from the medicine. Additionally some medications may cause some effects on the baby’s development, specifically lung development.

Ultimately, if you are on anti-depressants, it is really important to speak with your doctor about the risks that apply. Because there is a very remote chance of something affecting the baby due to anti-depressants, the smart choice is to sometimes continue taking the medicine as the risks to the mother with sever depression may outweigh the potential harm to the baby. Again, these are things that need to be discussed with your doctor before you decide to stop, start or switch medicines.

Its is also important to remember that any woman who’s depressed during pregnancy is at higher risk of developing postpartum depression.