Most types of depression are treated with antidepressant medications,usually known as antidepressants. Pregnancy has been said to protect women fromdepression, but recent studies didn’t confirm these claims. However, it also doesn’tmean that pregnant women experience some worsening of their depression over thenine months of pregnancy. It is simply recognized that pregnancy and probably thehormones during that time provoke different emotional status, causing difficultiesin women already diagnosed with depression.
Depression Treatment in Pregnant Women
If you are expecting, you should know that some antidepressantshave been known to carry certain health risks for your unborn child and someare considered safe to be used. Cessation of the depression treatment might aggravateyour condition and because of that it’s important to be informed about yourmedications and its impact to your baby.
Depression in pregnant women is the condition that should betreated, all doctors agree in that note. You have to be able to take care ofboth yourself and your baby and eat proper food, which turn out to be somethingdepressive people can’t do. Quitting your antidepressants might also provokealcohol or cigarette addiction, which is also very bad for the health of yourchild. Avoiding the treatment for your depression, you may end up giving prematurebirth, low birth weight and development difficulties in the baby. Also, youcould be exposed to a higher risk of postpartum depression, without the proper therapyduring the pregnancy.
Medication Considered Safe in Pregnancy
Citalopram (Celexa), sertraline (Zoloft), amytryptiline, nortryptiline(Pamelor), bupropion (Wellbutrin) and fluoxetine (Prozac or Sarafem) have beenrecommended by most doctors to be used during the pregnancy. These medications hadsome reported side effects to the unborn children, but these were rare orunconfirmed effects.
Bupropion hasn’t been associated with any risks for thebaby, while amytryptiline and nortryptiline may also be valued as safe, sincethere are no recent studies confirming any adverse effects on the unborn child.
Citalopram may rarely cause persistent pulmonaryhypertension in newborn children, and different birth and heart defects. Fluoxetineand sertraline can also cause harm to baby’s lungs or a heart. However, sincethese are very rare occasions, these drugs cause extremely low risks for thebaby.
What Drugs to Avoid
Paroxetine (Paxil), phenelzine (Nardil) and tranylcypromine(Parnate) are not considered to be safe for pregnant women. Avoid thesemedications if you are pregnant. Paroxetine can provoke heart defects in unbornchildren in first trimester of pregnancy and also provoke different medicalproblems, such as: anencephaly, omphalocele and craniosynostosis. Phenelzine andtranylcypromine have been associated with the serious raise in blood pressurethat might lead to stroke.
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