I saw this, and good for you for contacting him.
NICE guidance on this is in the CG45 guidance on antenatal and postnatal mental health,page 10. The guidance does not say 'do not prescribe' and points out, sensibly, that all prescribing needs to be done with care.
"When choosing an antidepressant for pregnant or breastfeeding women,
prescribers should, while bearing in mind that the safety of these drugs is not well
understood, take into account that:
?tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline, imipramine and nortriptyline,
have lower known risks during pregnancy than other antidepressants
?most tricyclic antidepressants have a higher fatal toxicity index than selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
?fluoxetine is the SSRI with the lowest known risk during pregnancy
?imipramine, nortriptyline and sertraline are present in breast milk at relatively
low levels
?citalopram and fluoxetine are present in breast milk at relatively high levels
?SSRIs taken after 20 weeks? gestation may be associated with an increased risk
of persistent pulmonary hypertension in the neonate
?paroxetine taken in the first trimester may be associated with fetal heart defects
?venlafaxine may be associated with increased risk of high blood pressure
at high doses, higher toxicity in overdose than SSRIs and some tricyclic anti-
depressants, and increased difficulty in withdrawal
?all antidepressants carry the risk of withdrawal or toxicity in neonates; in most
cases the effects are mild and self-limiting. "
There is also guidance on the Royal College of Psychiatrists' site:
www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinformation/mentalhealthproblems/postnatalmentalhealth/postnataldepres sion.aspx
James is not a medical doctor and he should know to check anything he says about meds.
I was cross when I read this because I like his column.