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Anti-Depressant Medications (SSRIs)

The Dangers of Anti-Depressant Medications (SSRIs) for Pregnant Women 

Introduced to the nation in 1987, Anti-Depressant Medications, formally known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are a newer class of prescription medications designed to relieve depression and anxiety disorders. SSRIs are also used to treat a variety of other psychiatric and physical conditions, including bulimia nervosa, alcoholism, borderline personality disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and obesity. Generally speaking, SSRIs are the antidepressants of choice for many of today's physicians. They are praised as being more effective, safer and better tolerated than older classes of drugs.

Types of Anti-Depressant Medications (SSRIs) 

The first medication in the SSRI category was Fluoxetine, sold under the brand name Prozac. Prozac was approved by the FDA in December 1987. Five more SSRIs followed, including:

• Zoloft (sertraline hydrochloride), manufactured by Pfizer, Inc.
• Paxil (paroxetine hydrochloride), manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline.
• Luvox (fluvoxamine maleate), manufactured by Solvay Pharmaceuticals.
• Celexa (citalopram hydrobromide), manufactured by Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
• Lexapro (escitalopram oxalate), manufactured by Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Lexapro is considered to be an improved version of Celexa.

With the exception of Luvox, all of these Anti-depressant medications are widely prescribed in the U.S. today.

The Problem with Anti-Depressant Medications 

Since every SSRI has its own unique chemical makeup, individual patients may respond differently to a single SSRI. In the same token, each patient may experience varied side effects with different types of SSRIs. For the individual taking the medication, SSRI side effects are rarely severe enough to require a reduction in dosage or discontinuation.

However, when taken by an expectant mother during pregnancy, SSRIs may pose significant health dangers for another, unknowing victim: the unborn fetus. In 2006 the FDA issued an advisory after a breakthrough study regarding SSRIs and pregnancy was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study compared mothers who took SSRIs in the second half of pregnancy with mothers who did not take antidepressants at all, or who discontinued their use in the first half of pregnancy. The study found that mothers who were on anti-depressant medication were six times more likely to deliver an infant with Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn (PPHN), a life-threatening condition that affects a baby's ability to breathe after birth. The study also noted less severe complications in another 20 to 30 percent of infants born to mothers who used SSRIs late in pregnancy.

SSRIs are not the only medications known to have caused birth injuries. View descriptions of other dangerous drugs and medications for pregnant women.

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