Anxiolytics and antidepressants, are they recommended during pregnancy?

A sedentary lifestyle during pregnancy is associated with increased depression

The World Health Organization, WHO, says that more than 90% of pregnant women consume prescription or over-the-counter drugs. When ideally, no pregnant woman should take medication. Pregnancy is not a disease. In any case if you are already doing it and you can't quit, calways consult the gynecologist or obstetrician handling the case.

Faced with an anxiety or depression problem, do not self-medicate, not even with the same drugs you have already used. Treatment and doses during pregnancy are different from what you used previously. Next we continue talking about antidepressants and anxiolytics during and after pregnancy.

Antidepressants, Anxiolytics and Pregnancy

It is common, especially if you are a first time, that during pregnancy you have an episode of obsessive-compulsive disorders or mood disorders, and you may even suffer from panic, anxiety or depression. Depression affects between 7 and 13% of pregnant women.

Although it cannot be said bluntly that during pregnancy they cannot be taken Anxiolytics or antidepressants, these should only be used if there is a clear clinical indication. That is, only under medical prescription.

There are drugs antidepressants considered low risk if used during pregnancy. This does not mean that they do not increase the chance of birth defects or fetal toxicity. That is why we insist that the individual doctor assesses the risk of each drug and the benefit of using it.

The most prescribed medications are varied, although there is a certain tendency to use a drug from the SSRI family (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) instead of tricyclic antidepressants or benzodiazepines. Among other reasons, the efficacy of these drugs is very well supported, and they have few side effects. Mothers who were depressed during pregnancy or used antidepressants are more likely to have asthmatic children. read this article for complete information.

Side Effects of Anxiolytics in Babies

premature birth

Mothers who took the latest generation antidepressants during the third trimester of pregnancy and / or breastfeeding may have babies with neurological disorders related to serotonin (muscle spasms, tiredness, tremor, shivering, stiffness, poor coordination ...), such as a kind of withdrawal syndrome. These effects lasted between one and four days after birth.

This same study confirms that the latest generation anxiolytics had no effect, such as the length of the pregnancy or the weight of the baby. There were no gastrointestinal disorders or difficulties during breastfeeding, nor were there any changes in the babies' vital signs, such as blood pressure, heart rate, or body temperature.

Other analyzes have shown that babies of mothers who took SSRIs during pregnancy are more likely to be born prematurely, in addition to having problems adapting to life outside the womb. These incidences occur more frequently in those babies whose mothers also took other medications for mental disorders, who smoked, or who drank alcohol.


But, as we want to remind you again, more studies are needed, and it is your doctor who should monitor you.

Drugs for postpartum depression

Postpartum depression

Although we will deal with this topic more specifically, it is true that postpartum depression exists. It can be moderate to intense, and is the consequence of a combination of physical and emotional factors. If the doctor considers it necessary, he will prescribe antidepressants that chemically intervene in the brain, and in the regulation of mood. These medications generally are considered safe while breastfeeding.

What is clear is that postpartum depression it can last for months or years, and directly affects the health of the mother, in addition to interfering with her ability to relate and care for her baby.

In any case, we are pregnant or have already given birth to our child, in addition to drugs, therapies, family and environmental support, one's own attitude, they are also very important in overcoming depression.


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