Antidepressants During Pregnancy May Not Increase Heart Issues, New Study Suggests

New research suggests that antidepressant use during pregnancy will not increase the risk of heart defects for the future child. 

Researchers at University College London found that these medications did not increase the risk of congenital heart defects in newborns. However, previous research has suggested that taking some antidepressants-particularly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)-may increase the risk of birth defects if taken during the first trimester.

"Women often receive conflicting messages on whether they should continue taking antidepressants during pregnancy and many women may discontinue antidepressants in pregnancy because they fear adverse effects on their unborn child," said Dr. Irene Petersen, a researcher at University College London, in a news release.

During this recent study, researchers collected information on over 200,000 patients as part of the Health Improvement Network primary care database; these participants had also been involved in four large studies on children of women who had and had not been treated with antidepressnat drugs. 

From the sample, over 5,000 women received SSRIs before pregnancy, close to 3,000 received SSRIs during pregnancy and almost a 1,000 received other types of antidpressatns during pregnancy. Meanwhile, the other 200,000 women did not have any antidepressants before or duing pregnancy. 

The study showed that less than 1 percent of children had cognenital heart anomalies within five years of birth. Futhermore, researchers found no significant differences between women taking the drugs and women who were not. 

At the end of the findings, researchers push an emphasis on talking with your doctor about what's ultimately right for the patient. Many argue that taking antidperssants in order to prevent depression would be a greater benefit to the patient than stopping treatments--despite some risks for certain health problems for the baby. 

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