Antepartum Depression

I had the same problem. My ob gave me Zoloft and I was not comfortable taking it so I went to see a Psychiatrist. He told me that at my age Zoloft was not a good anti-depressant to take. I suggest that she sees a Psychiatrist they understand depression better and can better treat it.

I had to take it but it was started in the last 2 months of my pregnancy. MY daughter will be 2 next month and the only issue we have had is that she has a LOT of food allergies

I was on 50mgs and had no problems at all.

My sister-in-law was very depressed during her first and second pregnancy and was prescribed prozac. Both children are fine. They are 5 and 3 years old. She also has two more children one year old and a newborn. She did not need antidepressants for the latest two pregnancies. She lives in a middle eastern country. I am not sure if prozac is okay during pregnancy or not. I babysit the children and have found them to be fine. They are also in preschool and doing quite well. They are even bilingual - arabic and english. And athletic. The oldest has only a medical condition with his bowels and consipation. Not sure if this is related or not. The second oldest is very healthy, no known medical conditions.

My girl friend did, with no problems!
How's her diet?
Eating plenty yogurt and taking Expecta?
Praying for her.

My doc has me on Zoloft but he has already said that if I get pregnant we will stop the drugs. Because of the risk of birth defects. If you friend is feeling down get her something to do that she used to enjoy and get her to talk about good times. I went through a similar thing, the best thing for me was one of my friends was that if I was down and sad all the time I was going to have a cranky colicy baby, if I was happy and smiled all the time and was in a general good mood I will have a happy baby. I have the worlds happiest baby now. Your friend probably needs just someone to talk to and not to worry about being put on drugs. She probably just needs to have someone to talk to and listen to her and reassure her that everything is going to be okay.

I took zoloft when I was pregnant with my now 6 year old son. I have no indication that there is anything wrong with his lungs. In fact, he seems to be a very athletic child, both in behavior and actual physical makeup. What did happen was he fell off the growth chart when he was 7 months old. He was born about 3 weeks early ( we had moved to Germany when I was about 6 months along and I attribute the early birth to stress)at a normal 7lbs 5oz. He stopped growing and didn't start growing again until he was 13 or 14 months old. About 3 years later my German doctor was reviewing my files and saw that I had been taking zoloft for a number of years. He asked me if I had initially lost weight since zoloft is the only antidepressant prescribed as a weight-loss aid. I almost fell off my chair. Had I known that, I wouldn't have taken it during my pregnancy and the 2.5 years I was nursing my son. He is still pretty small for his age but he does have the expected growth spurts. They are just smaller growth spurts. While I can never be sure that it was the zoloft affecting him, it is always in the back of my mind when I look at how much smaller my son is than the children of the same age. Plus he did fall off the growth charts twice more since the initial period during his infancy. He underwent a series of unpleasant blood tests to check his growth hormone levels. They did test abnormally at first and then they evened out.
Being depressed is always awful, and I hope your friend can find some relief without potentially harming her unborn child or worrying about harming him/her.

R. M

I took Zoloft from 3 months of preggoness on at the maximum effective dose. The only problem with my son (besides him being a healthy 9 1/2lbs 24 1/2in long) was his ABO incompatibility and that had NOTHING to do with Zoloft and EVERYTHING to do with the fact that our blood types and Rh factors were different. (I am O+ and he ended up being B-)

Hi,
You may want to suggest to your friend that she find an acupuncturist who treats pregnant women. She can go online to find the state Acupuncture Society. Both Maryland and Virginia have professional organizations that provide names and numbers and zipcodes for practitioners.
Acupuncture can be very helpful for depression, with no risk of medications.
Good luck.
A.

I have taken Zoloft the whole time with my 3rd daughter and she is just fine. She is now 2 and perfectly healthy. So tell your friend that she should not worry.

My hippy friend Devra says to eat seawead! And Miso soup. She says they have natural hormone balancers in them. Also raspbery tea. And agrees that Acupuncture should be helpful.

(Boy, I wish she was around when some of these questions come up!)

Did her doctor recommend exercise or homeopathic routes? If not, does he not subscribe to any of that, or did he think she wouldn't be receptive. Does he want the "easy fix" or maybe she thought she would prefer it? I agree about the second opinion advice.

I, personally, agree drugs should be taken when the benfits will outweight the risks, but I also think all natural avenues should be explored before you take something that might have such risks.

Another thing my friend says is for you friend to do her own research and do what she's comfortable with.

-S. Kav

I took Paxil throughout my second pregnancy, and my daughter is now 7. She has had no health issues whatsoever other than normal childhood illnesses. Paxil is generally thought to be fairly safe in pregnancy; I don't know anything about Zoloft one way or the other. Obstetricians are more knowledgeable about these meds than they used to be but if your friend is still hesitant it certainly would not be a bad idea to get a second opinion from a psychiatrist.

I did not take antidepressants during my first pregnancy, and I suffered depression not only during the pregnancy but I also had a year-long bout of postpartum depression. Ironically, it's my older daughter who has ADD. The first year I had with her was very, very rough. Part of that was due to her ADD (problems with self-regulation, including naps etc) but a great deal was due to my depression. In fact, the two issues kind of fed off each other in a really wicked way.

Each of these cases is a very individual decision, but when you are weighing the factors keep in mind that depression itself can have a lasting adverse impact on both mom and child. These meds are not to be taken lightly but sometimes running a small risk can avert a much greater harm. I've done it both ways, and I know. Your friend should also know that depression in pregnancy has a very strong association with postpartum depression.

Like your friend, I had the same issues when I was pregnant with my son. I delivered in June 2005 - a healthy baby boy with no problems whatsoever with lung development or disorders. He's ahead of the curve with both language and speech development, is height and weight commesurate, and has letter, number and (some) small word recognition.

I desperately needed medication during my pregnancy. Along with my OBGYN, I believe that had I NOT taken the Zoloft, my son and I would have been at greater risk for OTHER by-products resulting from severe depression.

I was also working full-time throughout my pregnancy (up until the day I delivered) and was high-risk due to other complicating factors. Being able to take advantage of available medication as well as the support of my doctor, husband, and friends made the remainder of my pregnancy as well as the delivery much smoother.

Has she considered getting a second opinion? I wonder when a doctor just prescribes a drug for depression but does not also recommend counseling to help with under lying causes.

Hi N.,

I'm surprised the doctor prescribed Zoloft for your friend while she's pregnant. I was told that pregnant women should not take it unless it is in a really small dosage like 12.5 mg (half a 25 mg pill) I was given this for postpartum depression and it really messed me up because the dosage was too high. I had to figure out on my own that I can't take more than 12.5 mg or I get so dazed that I don't want to take care of my kids very well. I would get a second opinion on the depression and definitely seek counseling as that can help a lot. I would recommend seeking counseling with a church pastor first.

First off I'm happy to hear she's been diagnosed - I suffered with it and didnt even know it. I did not take Zoloft while pregnant, I took it when my youngest was 6 months old - and he was still breastfeeding (he breastfed until about 13 months, so he was exposed to it via breastmilk for about 7 months)- so I still had concerns about it affecting him. He is almost 4 and is very healthy, and very happy too. I think I was at the 50mg dose for a while, and ended up at 75 or 100. I agree with the other posts - counseling is so very important with this. I felt so much better on the Zoloft that I stopped the counseling altogether - which probably delayed me being able to come off the antidepressants (I just felt so guilty taking an hour for myself or spending the money for a counselor, or I just couldnt find the time with three small boys at home, etc), but I am finally anti-depressant free and it definitely would not have been possible without the counseling I eventually sought. Nutritionally, she may want to make sure she is getting plenty of Omega 3's and all the B vitamins, and like someone else mentioned exercise can make a big difference if you can get yourself to do it - even walking is great.
I really hope she has an understanding and supportive family - that can make a big difference too.

Sorry so long-
Best wishes!
D.

Hi N.,
I actually took a low dose of Zoloft my entire pregnancy, and my son, who is now 18 months, is perfectly healthy. His physical, social, and emotional development is on track so I don't think he's experienced any effects from my taking the medication. I have heard that at birth, babies of moms who took antidepressants while pregnant could be more sluggish than usual, but it's nothing permanent. The doctors will probably just pay closer attention to him/her after the birth. For me, not taking Zoloft wasn't an option, as I suffer from severe panic disorder and not being medicated would have been riskier. However, as with all drugs, there are no garuntees; your friend will have to weigh the options. But personally, I have no regrets about using Zoloft during my pregnancy. Good luck!

i took a 2 category C medications while pregnant. the criteria doctors use when giving this choice is if the risks of being off the meds is greater than being on them. if your friend will not be taking of herself, for example, eating, sleeping, exercising, or is not looking forward to her baby's arrival than not being on the drug may be a much higher risk than taking the drug. btw, my daughter is better than fine but anecdotal evidence should be the deciding factor. if she doesn't take the drug have her ask her doctor about a registry for pregnant women on certain drugs. this is how scientist form statistics on the effects of these drugs on babies since they obviously can't test on pregnant women. good luck to your friend.

Yes, took zoloft entire 3rd trimester. Baby had absolutely no issues and is a VERY healthy 4 and half old child now. FYI, second pregnancy depression wasn't as bad and waited until birth and in hospital to start zoloft. But really I see no difference in health, just didn't feel as bad the second time. I think the risks of a depressed mother should be weighed against risk of drug. Less quality care in those early months and less stimulation, pleasant mother voice could lead to longer term problems w/ child and feelings of security and confidence.

Also, don't forget a lot of the baby development is in early trimesters- last trimester is more growing. My doctor reassured me that my baby would be absolutely fine.

Hi
I had severe antepartum depression with my twins. I went on Zoloft at 27 weeks and it was a lifesaver. The babies are fine, terrific, no problems, came home with me. I continued to take Zoloft while breastfeeding them for over 1 year. I have a friend who took Zoloft with both her pregnancies and through breastfeeding as well. There are no guarantees and every pregnancy and birth is different, but I felt that the benefits of feeling better (and eating and sleeping better) during pregnancy outweighed the small risks or pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. I would talk to your pediatrician, perinatologits, and OB/GYN about their experiences with SSRIs in pregnancy. It is not uncommon.
Good luck.

I found ths online:

Homeopathic Remedies for Postpartum Depression - MotherNature.com Health Encyclopedia

The usual speech applies here. When looking into using herbal or homeopathic remedies, make sure you're getting them from a good health food store. Avoid commercial places like GNC. Get out the yellow pages and look under health food stores, then call around until you find one with a certified herbalist on staff. This is the store you want to go to.

Exercise should not be forgotten when dealing with depression. It has been shown that regular exercise is the best remedy for depression. There have been patients who've suffered repeated bouts of depression who have been able to go off meds completely after starting and maintaining a regular exercise program.

I started taking Zoloft about 3 months into my last pregnancy, and it helped me so much!!! My daughter was born healthy, was breastfed while I was still taking it, and is as healthy as can be! It is so important for the mother to be happy! I had a friend who also took this during a pregnancy, and 3 of her friends took it and all the babies were fine! I noticed some moms were saying your friend should get counseling, but for a pregnant woman, it isn't always logical issues. It's hormonal!!!! I think taking this drug was the best thing I could do for my daughter. I wasn't depressed at all for the rest of my pregnancy, or during nursing!