Sertraline and pregnancy

[ploo]

Hi
Very early on in pregnancy. Just found out a week ago.
I am taking sertraline 50mg (have been on this the last 3 months) and it has honestly made me feel a bit more in control of things and allowing me to cope better at work (I'm in a very anxiety-provoking career).
But I'm not sure whether to continue with it. Ideally I would like to because I don't want to revert back to the way I was 3 months ago. But I also don't want to risk causing any harm if I can avoid it. My GP has basically said it's up to me.

So my question is, is there anyone on here that has taken sertraline in pregnancy (and breastfeeding)? What were your experiences?

Have you only been on it 3 months? In all honesty it’s not a long time and you’re only just at the stage of it properly working. Coming off it can also have its challenges.

Im taking it (been taking it several years for anxiety), and I’ve been reassured it’s very safe during pregnancy. In fact one obstetrician told me absolutely loads of women are on it and they’d rather have you be well whilst pregnant than unwell. Make sure you make your midwife aware you take it because they can refer you for extra support if you need it.

Could you ask your midwife if you can see an obstetrician at the hospital to discuss? I saw an obstetrician who specialised in mental health and also a perinatal psychiatrist and they helped me to make informed decisions about medication while I was pregnant. Sertraline is what they recommend you take while pregnant / breastfeeding and it is generally considered safe. There are some risks but they are very low. You may have to stay in hospital for upto 48hrs when baby is born just to make sure they are not having any withdrawals and they can be a bit irritable for upto 2 weeks after delivery if you’re taking it right up until then. The website Bumps also has good info on medication during pregnancy and Sertraline is on there x

Yes I was on it throughout pregnancy and bf and it was absolutely fine. Baby had to have extra monitoring when born in case of withdrawal but all was ok. 50mg is a fairly low dose anyway.

Yeah I was on it in pregnancy 50mg no problems. Stayed in hospital overnight for monitoring but all fine and went home the next morning

Sertraline is safe for use in pregnancy. Baby might need a little extra monitoring in the first few days after birth. I wasn't on sertraline in pregnancy but I took quetiapine and we had a 3 day stay just to make sure she adjusted to being in the world ok. Some medication increase the risk a little bit that they don't adjust to being on the outside. She had her temperature and O2 levels measured every 4h and everything was fine.
I breastfed on sertraline and that was fine too.
A healthy medicated mother is better than an unwell unmedicated mother.

Do mention it to your midwife, at least in my hospital, there are midwives that specialise in mental health and I see an obstetrician that specialises in mental health and am under the perinatal mental health team from mid way through pregnancies.

So I was on citralapram when I got pregnant but ended up being very poorly with sickness and had to stop takeing everything my choose but my midwife has said for me to go back on them before 34 weeks to make sure I’m ok before baby is here it turns out it was my tablets making me sick and I am now going back onto sertraline they said I’ll have to stay in for 48 hours to make sure baby not having any side effects from them but they are the safest one to be on

hope this helps x

I’ve been on 50mg sertraline for several months now and it has worked wonders for my anxiety and I was reassured by my GP and consultant (IVF) that it’s safe, currently in early pregnancy.

Just for comparison, when I was pregnant with my eldest several years ago I experienced a significant trauma, not pregnancy related, and ended up under the perinatal mental health team. Looking back now and knowing the difference that sertraline has made I wish I had considered medication at the time.