Infants Exposed to Psychotropic Drugs During Pregnancy At Risk

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New research published in the July issue of The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found that the use of mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, antidepressants, and hypnotics during pregnancy is associated with increased health risks to the infant.

Antidepressants During Pregnancy Do Not Appear To Reduce Relapses And Hospitalizations

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Continuing to take antidepressants during pregnancy was associated with higher rates of depressive relapses and hospitalizations than discontinuing.

Internal Pfizer Report Warned of Zoloft and Birth Defect Link

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"A Pfizer Inc. report shows a scientist warned executives last year about a potential link between the anti-depressant drug Zoloft and birth defects."

SSRI Antidepressants Appear to Raise Risk of Serious Respiratory Disease in Newborns

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A new study has reinforced earlier warnings that taking SSRI antidepressants late in pregnancy appears to put mothers at a slightly increased risk of having newborns with persistent pulmonary hypertension.

Depression During Pregnancy, Unhealthy Diet, and Child Emotional Dysregulation

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One reason that depression is linked to later psychological problems in children could be because depressed mothers often have less healthy diets.

Chemicals Have Consequences: Antidepressants, Pregnancy, and the New York Times

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Depressed pregnant women need good care.  They should not be made to feel guilty for the choices they make concerning their depression or lectured to by those who don’t understand the area or lack compassion for them.  In that sense, Andrew Solomon does the public a service by turning his attention and writing talents to the topic of depression and pregnancy this week in the New York Times.  However, a crucial part of providing good care to depressed pregnant women is to give them accurate information on the topic.  In this sense, Andrew Solomon falls short.

Antipsychotics Safe During Pregnancy, After Corrective Algorithm

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There were some differences between the study, the abstract, the press release and the media coverage about the risks of taking antipsychotics during pregnancy.

FDA Updating Guidelines on Pregnancy and Drug Use

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The US FDA has launched a campaign to dispel the "myth" that women shouldn't be taking any medications while pregnant.

Antidepressants Linked to Increased Risk of Preeclampsia in Pregnancy

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Pregnant women taking antidepressant medications, especially during the second trimester, have an increased risk of preeclampsia, a potentially serious or even fatal condition.

Pfizer Accused of Knowing Zoloft Antidepressant Caused Birth Defects

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The first of more than 1,000 lawsuits about Zoloft and birth defects has gotten underway.

Psychotropics During Pregnancy Raise Risk of Babies with Low Birth Weight, Hospitalizations

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The use by mothers of any of four major classes of psychiatric medications during pregnancy significantly raises the risk that their babies will be born with low birth weights and will need to be hospitalized.

Researchers Discover How Plastic Contaminants Cause Brain Changes and Hyperactivity

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Researchers believe they have found "the smoking gun" that links common contaminants leaching from plastics to "adverse brain development and hyperactivity."

Evidence Lacking for Antidepressant Safety in Nursing Mothers

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A scientific review says we need to know much more about the risks of nursing mothers taking SSRIs.

New Form of Mice Experiment Reveals Antidepressant’s Dangers Earlier

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Scientists from the University of Utah say they have discovered a new way of doing mice experiments that more sensitively and quickly reveals negative...

Antidepressants and Pregnancy:  Who Says They Are Safe? 

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Depression during pregnancy is an important issue. Depression should not be ignored and depressed pregnant women deserve good treatment and care. Part of that good care, though, is providing them with full and correct information. I care for pregnant women taking antidepressants on a daily basis and too often they tell me that the only counseling they received about the medication was, “my doctor told me it’s safe in pregnancy.” This post will review the evidence in this area and address the counterarguments.

Is Autism a “Deficit” or a Super Sensitivity?

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Salon has reprinted an excerpt from a book by University of California cognitive neuroscientist Gregory Hickok, in which Hickok argues that common diagnostic tests...

Autism, Antidepressants, and Pregnancy: The Basics

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This month, the seventh study and eighth study came out on the topic of antidepressant exposure during pregnancy and autism.  And these studies showed, as essentially all of the others have, that antidepressant use during pregnancy (principally with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs) is associated with autism in the exposed children. With so many children being diagnosed with autism and so many women taking antidepressants during pregnancy, everyone wants to know: are these things (the antidepressants) associated with autism or not?  Quite frankly no one has the time to read through all eight scientific papers (and dozens more animal and basic science studies) to understand this important area, so I will do my best to briefly summarize it here.

US Government Reviews Antidepressants During and After Pregnancy

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released a meta-analysis “Evidence Report” of the studies into...

Antipsychotics During Pregnancy Linked to Infant Problems

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“Live, healthy babies are the most common outcome following the use of antipsychotic medication in pregnancy,” conclude Australian researchers in a study that was...

Antidepressants, Pregnancy, and Autism: Really Time to Worry

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On Monday April 14th, an important new study from Harrington et al was published in the journal Pediatrics (the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.)  The study was designed to examine prenatal use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and the risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and other developmental delays (DDs).  Nine hundred sixty-six mother child pairs were studied and the researchers found that in boys, the association between maternal SSRI use in the first trimester and autism was very strong (OR 3.22).  The association between third-trimester maternal SSRI use and developmental delay was even stronger, with an odds ratio of 4.98.

Prenatal Exposure to SSRIs Significantly Increases Autism & Developmental Delays

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Research on 966 mother-child pairs from the Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) Study finds that prenatal SSRI exposure was nearly 3...

Antidepressants and Preterm Birth: More Concerning Findings

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An important new research paper was published this week on the topic of antidepressant use during pregnancy and preterm birth.  The issue is a crucial one as preterm birth (i.e. birth at less than 37 weeks gestational age) is one of the most challenging problems facing the obstetrical community today.  Rates of preterm birth have been increasing over the past two decades.  Babies born early have increased risks of morbidity and mortality.  At the same time, rates of antidepressant use during pregnancy have increased dramatically.

Increased Risk of Preterm Birth in Women Taking Antidepressants

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A detailed meta-analysis of the published research on women taking antidepressants during pregnancy finds that the rate of preterm birth is nearly doubled in the third...

Jury Awards $3M to Family of 5-Year-Old With Topamax-Related Birth Defects

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A Pennsylvania jury awarded $3 million to the family of a 5-year-old born with cleft palate and lip as a result of the mother...

“Prescription Drugs Lead to Growing Problem of Infant Addiction”

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Ten years ago, infants born with drug addictions was associated with street drugs. But the rise of prescription drug addiction in the past ten...