Pregnancy and Depression
I have been getting questions and comments from visitors concerned about the effects of antidepressants and psychotropic medications on pregnancy. Thus, I’ve been keeping a watchful eye on new research information published on this concern.
In the August 2007 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry was a medical education article called, “Antenatal Depression: Navigating the Treatment Dilemmas” by Dr. Marlene P. Freeman, M.D. Dr. Freeman described 2 patient case studies - a 35-year old professional woman with major depression whose illness relapsed when she discontinued her meds after becoming pregnant. Another was a 24-year old mother who became clinical depressed 20 weeks into her pregnancy. Both women posed concerns for the doctor because of the need to weigh the potential risks to the fetus from medication side effects and the risks to the mothers from not receiving medication treatment for their bipolar disorder or depression. Read more