No Infant Death Risk Seen from Antidepressants During Pregnancy: Study

Use of antidepressants during pregnancy, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), does not appear to increase the risk of stillbirths or infant deaths, according to the findings of new research.

In a a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on January 2, researchers examined more than 1.6 million births in a population-based cohort study, to evaluate the risk of stillbirth or infant death during the first year of life after SSRI antidepressants were used by pregnant women.

Although the findings initially suggested that women who took SSRIs during pregnancy had higher rates of still birth and post-neonatal deaths, after adjusting to account for other variables, such as depression, history of psychiatric disease or previous psychiatric hospitalizations, researchers found no significant association between SSRI use during pregnancy and infant death during the first year of life.

Did You Know?

Change Healthcare Data Breach Impacts Millions of Customers

A massive Change Healthcare data breach exposed the names, social security numbers, medical and personal information of potentially 100 million Americans, which have now been released on the dark web. Lawsuits are being pursued to obtain financial compensation.

“The increased rates of stillbirth and post-neonatal mortality among infants exposed to an SSRI during pregnancy were explained by the severity of the underlying maternal psychiatric disease and unfavorable distribution of maternal characteristics such as cigarette smoking and advanced maternal age,” wrote study co-authors.

Researchers, led by Dr. Olaf Stephansson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, analyzed information from 30,000 women who filled prescriptions for SSRIs in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden during 1996 through 2007.

According to information obtained from prescription registries and patient and medical birth registries, researchers determined that approximately 2 percent of the women used SSRIs, such as Prozac or Paxil.

Researchers noted that about 7 to 19 percent of pregnant mothers in economically developed countries are affected by depression.

“Maternal depression is associated with poorer pregnancy outcomes, including increased risk of preterm delivery, which in turn may cause neonatal morbidity and mortality,” wrote the authors.

Antidepressants and Birth Defects

Side effects of antidepressant use during pregnancy have previously been linked to a risk of birth defects, neonatal withdrawal syndrome and pulmonary hypertension, leading researchers to examine if is also a link between antidepressant use and infant deaths.

SSRI antidepressants include some of the most widely prescribed medications in the world, such as Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa and others.

In recent years a number of Zoloft lawsuits and Paxil lawsuits have been filed on behalf of infants diagnosed with severe birth defects or malformations, such as persistent pulmonary hypertension in newborns (PPHN), spina bifida and other health problems.

Prior studies have also raised concerns regarding the use of SSRIs during pregnancy, linking the use of the medications to higher rates of miscarriage, preterm labor, complications during pregnancy and long-term neurobehavioral abnormalities in the babies.

A link has also been identified between antidepressant use during pregnancy and interrupted language development in the babies, autism, seizures and delayed developmental milestones to SSRI use.

Researchers urge doctors and mothers to approach SSRI use carefully and to fully take into account other risks, such as depression, before making a decision about whether to use antidepressants during pregnancy.

0 Comments

Share Your Comments

I authorize the above comments be posted on this page*

Want your comments reviewed by a lawyer?

To have an attorney review your comments and contact you about a potential case, provide your contact information below. This will not be published.

NOTE: Providing information for review by an attorney does not form an attorney-client relationship.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

More Top Stories

Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Status Conference To Be Held With MDL Judge This Week
Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Status Conference To Be Held With MDL Judge This Week (Posted 2 days ago)

U.S. District Judge presiding over all federal hair relaxer lawsuits will meet with lawyers involved in the litigation on Thursday, to discuss the status of the claims and when to move forward with bellwether cases.

Lawyers Propose MDL Trial Dates for Baby Formula NEC Lawsuit Starting in May 2025
Lawyers Propose MDL Trial Dates for Baby Formula NEC Lawsuit Starting in May 2025 (Posted 3 days ago)

A series of four bellwether claims in the baby formula NEC lawsuit MDL will be ready to go before a federal juries in May 2025, August 2025, November 2025 and February 2026 according to a proposed trial schedule agreed upon by both plaintiffs and defendants.