Women Who Take SSRI Antidepressants May Have Persistent Depressive, Anxiety Symptoms During Pregnancy, Postpartum, Small Study Indicates

Healio (3/17, VanDewater) reports, “Women who took antidepressant medication had persistent depressive and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum, with some women experiencing increased anxiety symptoms,” investigators concluded in a study that “enrolled 88 pregnant women (89% white) by 18 weeks’ gestation who had a diagnosis of” major depressive disorder (MDD) “and were currently taking” the SSRI antidepressants “sertraline (n = 47), fluoxetine (n = 10), citalopram (n = 9) or escitalopram (n =22).” The study revealed that “despite maintenance treatment, pregnant women with MDD frequently had residual symptoms at enrollment and throughout pregnancy and postpartum.” The findings were published online March 4 in the journal Psychiatric Research & Clinical Practice, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Anxiety, depression persist despite antidepressant use in pregnancy, postpartum “Kalie VanDewater, Healio, March 17, 2022

Posted in In The News.