It's a heated question: should women take antidepressants during
pregnancy? Some experts argue for it and some against, but a new
study may ease the minds of women facing the decision.
Researchers say taking a common type of antidepressant does not
increase the risk of having a stillborn child or losing an
infant early in life. The study was published in this week's
Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). "It does
strengthen the view that these meds are safer than we once
thought," explains Dr. Jennifer Payne, director of the Women's
Mood Disorders Center at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in
Baltimore. Although there is much discussion about the risks of
using antidepressants, experts emphasize that failing to treat
depression can also lead to health problems for mom and baby.
Researchers looked at the medical records of more than 1.5
million newborns and their mothers from Norway, Denmark, Sweden
and other Nordic countries. About 29,000 of the mothers-to-be
had filled a prescription for SSRIs,