Can Antidepressant Medication Be Taken During Pregnancy?

Posted on Tue, 15 Sep 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 15 Sep 2015 Answered on

Tue, 6 Oct 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : How do females who are on anti depressants get pregnant & have healthy babies? Surely its not safe to go off their anti depressants?

Answered by Dr. Shubham Mehta (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
drug treatment depends on severity of depression.

Detailed Answer:
Hello
Welcome to HCM.

If a female is suffering from depression during pregnancy, it must be treated.
Peripartum depression increase the risk post partum depression and psychosis.

Sertraline is considered to be safest of all the antidepressants.
The female can be frequently monitored with ultrasound scans, if needed.

However, if the depression is mild, psychological treatments like cognitive behaviour therapy can be done.

All depends on clinical assessment by a psychiatrist.

Hope this answers your query satisfactorily.

Feel free to ask further.

Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Shubham Mehta (59 minutes later)

What class of hazard is sertaline? A, B, C, D etc

Answered by Dr. Shubham Mehta (15 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
category C.

Detailed Answer:
Sertraline and most antidepressants belong to pregnancy category C drugs.

Pregnancy category C includes those drugs of which "Animal reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus and there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in humans, but potential benefits may warrant use of the drug in pregnant women despite potential risks".

Hope this answers your query.
Thanks.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar