Antidepressants in pregnancy
The taking of medicines during pregnancy is a sensitive issue and we must be clear about which are indicated and which are not. And, in the case of antidepressants ?, can we take them if we are pregnant? As to the antidepressants, the risk-benefit relation must be said by the doctor when the question arises as to whether treatment in pregnant women is appropriate.
If you are pregnant and you consider that you have symptoms of depressionYou may have consulted a specialist and prescribed an antidepressant medication. Pregnancy brings multiple changes and it is important that your mood is good, because that feeling not only affects your life, but also that of your baby, who Follow the state of your emotions from the uterus.
Depression during pregnancy
Depression occurs during pregnancy due to the important hormonal and physiological changes that the pregnant woman suffers, and most of them are not treated. Between 10 and 12 percent of pregnant women they suffer from depressive symptoms and up to 13 percent of pregnant women with depression take antidepressants at this stage. The woman medicated with SSRI antidepressants in the last part of the pregnancy may present some alteration, but should not interrupt the treatment, since the Relapse risk is higher.
Antidepressants and the pregnant woman
Studies have shown thatIt is a mistake to consider that during pregnancy you can not take anxiolytics or antidepressants and leave the woman in this way without treatment. Nothing is more important than maintaining your emotional well-being during pregnancy.
This has been affirmed due to the follow-up carried out by the Asher Center for the Study and Treatment of Depressive Disorders at Northwestern University, in the U.S. The study focused on a group of 77 women, all pregnant and with symptoms of depression. Of the total, 46 were in treatment and the remaining 31 were not.
After giving birth, babies born to these women were measured and weighed four times during their first year of life and they were able to verify that 20 percent of women in treatment had children a little premature compared to 10 percent of premature children from those who were not in treatment.
Finally, babies were followed during the first years of life and they did not find differences or problems in the development of any of the children born during the study.
Antidepressants and the baby
One of the most critical moments for the fetus in pregnancy is when cell division occurs, as it allows for development and growth. Therefore, in the first months of pregnancy is when there is a greater risk to the fetus in developing malformations and we must be careful in the diet and in the medicines that we take.
Before making the decision to start or continue an antidepressant treatment, we must consult with our doctor and always make a balance between the benefits and the risks that they would provide.
