Please help me

[Lizziedoll]

I'm 6 weeks pregnant with my first child. I have a history of anxiety and depression and was on citalopram before falling pregnant but I have been weaned off it and now I'm at an all time low. The doctor said sertraline was safer and was ok prescribing it to me but I feel so incredibly scared taking meds will harm my baby but also scared my anxiety levels might be even worse for him/her. I feel useless and like I shouldn't even be having a child in my state. I don't want an abortion but convinced my baby will be born "abnormal" physically or emotionally and maybe not having this baby is what would be best. I feel so lost and hopeless please help me

I took citalopram all the way through pregnancy and breastfeeding - 20mg.

You need to take care of yourself first and foremost - that's the best way to look after your baby.

Please go back to your doc - they will help, especially with your history.

Look after yourself x

You're not useless. You're really not. I stopped taking sertraline and quietiapine when I got pregnant, but was advised I could still take sertraline. I'm not saying I stopped to make you feel bad, I stopped because I felt I no longer needed it at that time. If I had needed it, I would have had no hesitation in taking it. I am in a group for women who breastfeed their child until age two and beyond and many women there have said that they took sertraline throughout pregnancy and/or while breastfeeding and there have been no negative effects on their child. If you feel you need to take it and the doctor has given you the go-ahead, then trust your doctor. And please do not feel you are useless, you are not and you are not the only mother to need medication.

Thanks to you both for your kind messages. I am seeing a doctor again this afternoon and will ask for a prescription of Sertraline. I just feel really rubbish about needing it, I feel almost selfish, putting my needs before my baby's but I feel I cannot cope right now without help. I don't know what I'll do if my baby is born with medical issues caused by my taking Sertraline in pregnancy

I imagine your anxiety issues are at play here and making you feel more worried about this than you would be otherwise. Being pregnant is an anxiety-ridden time anyway, even without suffering from anxiety. You're not being selfish at all. Your baby needs you to survive. They are completely dependent upon you. You need to be in as fit a state as you can be to take on the role of provider for your child. You are doing the best thing you can. I think it would be more selfish to neglect your mental state and end up not being able to care for your child properly. I speak as someone in that position right now! I am going to seek help because I feel my mental state is affecting my ability to look after my child and that really is not a good way to be.