Anyone taken anti depressants during pregnancy?

[Matilda30]

Hi,

I suffer with anxiety and depression.
My specialist MH midwife suggested that I think about starting low dosage sertraline for the last 10 weeks of pregnancy as this can be a tough time and then hormones really drop postnatally so I'd probably up my dosage. I'm only 12 weeks now and classified as mildly depressed, with anxiety, so I have a while to think about it but my instinct is to avoid medication at all costs while pregnant. I just wondered if anyone had any experience of this/ knew the risks. Also, any anxiety-busting tips appreciated as MW told me the baby can tell if I'm anxious!

Thanks xx

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Yes I took amitriptyline (a low dose) during pregnancy and while bf. It was a life saver. My anxiety was really bad and I needed to be able to relax and enjoy my pregnancy and newborn without dark thoughts. I am pleased your mw is supportive as that is key. My Dr was adamant that happy mum=happy baby and the ads really really helped and I feel so grateful. Hugs xx

Thanks very much for sharing your experiences. I feel very lucky to have the specialist MW, we talked for ages, not just about pregnancy but about losing my mum and other general stuff. I do sense it's a balancing act between risks of meds and risks of me becoming a bit of a mess health wise. I'll see how I go but I'm really hoping the 2nd trimester will be a lot lovelier than the 1st!

How are you doing? I'm only in early pregnancy but currently taking citalopram. My GP and OBGYN consultant said it was fine, that any risks to the baby are unquantifiable and outweighed by the risks to me. I am suffering from quite extreme anxiety related to a previous pregnancy and without my meds I don't think I would cope with this one at all and right now I'm kind of just teetering on the edge.

I've been on amitryptaline since 2nd trimester and it's helped enormously. I researched thoroughly and a lot of literature on antenatal depression says effect of ads on baby tends to be lower than effect of depression/anxiety.
My consultant told me amitriptyline is better for baby than sertraline so I'd ask yours about this if I were you.
Congrats and good luck

I'm really suffering from feeling low, lacking in energy, and having very frequent mood swings. Not sure how partner still wants me when I'm so negative and snippy. I was taken off citaloptam by GP very quickly when found out I was pregnant, really struggling now. Horrible feeling when I want to be positive and enjoy but am so low. Does it get better?

Hi matilda30 & kimix. I took citalopram 40mg throughout my second pregnancy. My GP and ObGyn both felt it was better that I have it as my anxiety would be controlled and therefore best for baby. I had a v difficult first pregnancy but had no help until after my DS was born. It was much easier the second time around (pregnancy triggered my anxiety) with the medication. I would say though that the paediatrics were not keen on me breastfeeding on citalopram though so I just did for the first 3 days. My DD is 3 in a few weeks and motherhood second time around has been 100% happier. Kimix I would recommend you speak to your obstetrician aSAP. Matilda30 it is fantastic that you have a specialist midwife. Wishing everyone much luck in their pregnancies.

PS I would agree with your MW about the hormone dip- there is an initial elation and then a big drop. I have found the headspace app useful for keeping calm.

Hi there, I took 20mg of fluoxetine throughout DS3s pregnancy. I dropped to 10 mg just before his birth to minimise any withdrawal symptoms that he might experience. I can honestly say that I did not notice that he had discontinuation symptoms and he wasn't distressed at all. I was also told that he would get something from my breastmilk but much much less than he would have felt from the pregnancy. I absolutely needed the meds and DS is now 8 and no bad side effects (that I can see!) from me taking the meds.

HTH and