Wondered if there are any ladies out there who are pregnant and on Anti-depressants?

[bluebabydinosaur]

I have been trying to get pregnant for the last year with two miscarriages. I feel that I need to be on anti depressants as I am struggling emotionally but I believe this is not good for any potential pregnancy or baby. I have not spoken to my Dr about this is. Am I wrong in thinking that it is bad to be on anti-depressants or is it actually OK? I remember reading that they can cause defects to the baby if taken during pregnancy. I feel that my life would be a whole lot easier and happier if I were on them (I have been in the past). Your help would be appreciated.

It depends which antidepressants. I was on amitriptyline when trying to conceive (for nerve pain, not depression) but had to stop immediately when I took a positive pregnancy test due to risk of birth defects. Baby still would have been exposed for a while though as it takes a while to leave your system, but I've just had my 30 week scan and he's fine. I'm not sure about the risks of different medications - you'll need to speak to your GP about the safest option.

20 week*

Hello OP, I’m pregnant and taking antidepressants. I had many conversations with my GP and with the perinatal mental health team while I was still TTC because I’d weaned off the medication to try and have a med free pregnancy, but my mental health took such a nose dive I couldn’t do it.

There are small risks of increased miscarriage and heart defects, but these are very rare - in my case we agreed that the benefit to my mental health outweighed the risk to the baby (I have moderate anxiety/depression, no suicidal thoughts or anything)

I am now 30 weeks pregnant with a healthy baby boy and my mental health is beautifully controlled. I’m even on a higher dose than I was pre pregnancy (sertraline 100mg)

I’m also a doctor myself and did a lot of reading and research around this and came to the decision that this was the right choice for me. the risks of the medication to baby were very low, whereas being a new mum that’s struggling to cope would be far more of a problem.

Talk to your GP, ask for referral to the perinatal mental health team if there’s one on your area and talk through your options.

I was on 100mg sertraline and having weekly EMDR sessions. I had to stop the EMDR as it’s not recommended in the first trimester and I came off sertraline. Both my doctor and perinatal team said that it’s fine to take sertraline, and many women do, but there is the very tiny risk associated with them. There is also the consideration that when the baby is born it may have withdrawal symptoms.
I was asked to weigh up if the risk to my mental health outweighed this. I know the risk is tiny but decided to come off them anyway because I’m the type to forever beat myself up about it if I turn out to be the tiny minority (and I’m already the tiny minority that has repeated missed miscarriages so I’m not a “it will never happen to me” person)

It has made my pregnancy a lot harder and I’m constantly reviewing if I should go back on them. The perinatal team have been really great and are checking in with me to make sure I don’t dip too much. I’ve also swapped out EMDR for grief counselling (for the previous miscarriages)

I was on 50mg sertraline when I conceived. When I spoke to my GP about it he said there is very, very slight risk of heart defects I think but sertraline is generally considered safe in pregnancy. It also needs to be weighed against your own wellbeing. I decided together to increase to 100mg with support of my GP. I'm so glad i did. I'm 25 weeks now and mental health is managed (even through this lockdown!) and baby is growing fine and kicking like mad. The risk is very minimal and i think you really do need to consider yourself and how you will cope with the pregnancy etc without the help.

Hi I was on 40mg of citalopram during my pregnancy but I was already on them when I conceived. I was told if risk of my mental health declining was more or a risk than the actual side effects to baby then to keep going with them.

I gradually reduced the dose but didn't completely come off them. I'm unsure about the risk of starting the meds while pregnant tho so you would have to speak to your GP. Some antidepressants are safer in pregnancy than others.

Speak to your gp for specific advice but there are options if you need to stay on antidepressants.
I take a mood stabiliser and it was decided that the risks of me becoming unwell due to stopping it outweighed the risks of staying in it. We did lower the dose a little as I was stable and I wanted to be on the lowest dose I needed to stay stable.
Advice re. Prescribing in pregnancy is updated all the time which is why it is worth speaking to your gp or ideally a perinatal psychiatrist. My medication until 2 years ago was in the "only if there is a medical need" category, a number of websites still use this. A more recent study of 900 women found no increased risk of complications or abnormalities. It just takes time for the information to filter through and for sites to get updated

I'm on lithium and sertraline and currently pregnant. I'm also a psychiatrist by background.

My last pregnancy I was just on lithium, it meant I had an extra scan and was under obstetrics but baby was fine and is now a thriving toddler. The risks of mental health relapse were probably higher in my case than risks to baby.

A good website to check out is BUMPS (best use of medicine in pregnancy).

Antidepressants aren't an optional lifestyle drug - they're a medical treatment for serious disorders like depression which in themselves can worsen outcome for baby. So you shouldn't feel guilty if you need to use them in pregnancy - just tell your doctor and midwife and if felt necessary they can refer to perinatal for advice.

I was on 20mg of citalopram when I conceived dd (6 years ago). I tried to come off it when pregnant but quickly went back on. For me the risk of not being on them was much greater than the risk of being on them. Dd is fine and perfect in every way (I am not up to 40mg citalopram!)

now

Thank you so much everyone. Your comments have been really very helpful and informative. Thank you for taking the time to reply. I will give my GP a call to discuss. I’ve been suffering over the last couple of years knowing I would benefit from taking something which seems so unfair but I haven’t wanted to harm any potential baby. It’s good to know that some of the information on line is potentially outdated. Great to hear from some professionals in the know too. Thanks again