Pleae advise - does anyone use anti depressants through pregnancy?

[bunnyhunny]

I would like to ttc again, but suffer from depression, particularly when hormonal (i.e. from conception til I stopped breastfeeding!!!).

So, I would ideally like to be able to use anti-depressants through pregnancy, but am not sure which ones are ok. I asked my doctor and he really didn't have a clue. He prescribed me prozac when I was breastfeeding, but I looked it up on the medline, kellymom etc and apparently there were much better alternatives.

So, has anyone successfully used ads in pregnancy?

I have been off anti'ds for about 7 weeks now and am 26 wks pg wiht twins,i have been on and off anti ds for almost 11 years ,was on prozac but not long before falling pg with the twins i was changed to citalopram.Was on them from before conception till about 7 weeks ago,i want to stay off them till at least after delivery but docs have said that staying on them wouldnt have been a problem if thats what i needed to do.
I want to stay off as long as poss as am very against taking any meds in pregnancy but neededto take them.I was told that prozac is one of the ones to avoid in pg as the baby can be born with withdrawal to the drug,there were 2 im sure,prozac and another one but cant remember which it was.

Hi bunnyhunny, I have been on 50mg sertraline since suffering PND after having DS - he is almost 15mths and I am now 16 wks pregnant again, the consensus was that the benifit to the mother outweighs the risk to baby according to my GP and MW, I couldnt bear the thought of just coming off them, it terrified me but I have managed to wean myself to 25mg daily for the last week and fingers crossed I will remain fine(smile)
Sertraline was fine to use during breastfeeding as well, but GP advised only breastfeeding for 6mths while taking it if possible.
Hope this helps x

Hi
I took citalopram during 2 of my 3 pregnancies to no ill effects at all. As jaq39 said the benefit to the mother outweighs any risk to the baby & mine were both absolutely fine. Good Luck xx

Hi, just to add my experience, I've also been on and off ad's since 2003. In the UK I took 20mg sertraline but I'm now in Zambia and it's not available here so my GP prescribed 20mg Prozac after I mc'd earlier this year. I'm now 12wks pg (2nd child) and still taking it, tried to reduce dose couple of weeks ago but didn't feel right at all, GP recommends staying on it until 6mo after delivery at least, and OK to breastfeed on it (v imp to me as worked so well with DS). I will try to wean down again to 10mg a day later in pg, and see how it goes. He is also of the opinion that the risks of a depressed (and/or severely anxious) mother outweigh poss risk to the baby which he says is vv low at 10-20mg a day. Plus more research has been done on Prozac than any of the newer drugs so far.
It's all so dependent on the individual (and on the doctor, unfortunately....) Best of luck xx

thanks everyone for getting back to me.
It's given me a few ideas to take to the doctors with me!