Drugs for Depression and Anxiety Linked to Premature Births

by Paul Dooley

Drugs for Depression and Anxiety Linked to Premature Births

2 Comments

Reuters reports that a new research study shows that antidepressants and Benzodiazepines can increase risk of premature birth.

Women taking antidepressants during pregnancy increase chances of have a preterm baby by up to 5 times.
Same risk not seen in women that started drug therapy before pregnancy or during first 3 months.
Antidepressants on this list include Zoloft, Paxil, Prozac.
Benzodiazepines linked to premature births include Atvian and Xanax.

CLICK HERE to read the full story.

Should pregnant women take drugs like antidepressants? What’s your opinion?

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emily

January 26th, 2010 at 10:04 pm

What about SNRIs? any research done on those? THis is something I’ve grappled with even though I’m not even close to having a kid. I am against risking the health of my child just so I can have more peace of mind but wonder alternatively if the anxiety fed to my child while pregnant could have negative effects as well…

Paul

January 27th, 2010 at 12:35 pm

Hi Emily,

You know I’m not sure about SNRI’s, I don’t think the story mentioned them.

But you’re right about this being a big issue for parents to be… it’s a tough call. But ultimately risking the health of your baby isn’t worth it. I guess in the worst case scenario women can just hold off during the course of the pregnancy and resume drug therapy just after delivery.