Antidepressant Use During Pregnancy

I took Zoloft while pregnant with my last child. She put me on the lowest dosage and I was told that it was one of the safest ones to take while pregnant. I didn't have any issues with it at all. Had a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby boy. No side effects for me but with any medicine there's always that chance. You have to outweigh the pros and cons but also look if the mother isn't on anything, is that more harmful to her than being on the meds. If so, then I personally would recommend Zoloft.

I took Zoloft with both of my pregnancies. I had Pre-Partum depression really bad with the second one. I had no problems taking it and both of my kids were fine. I did a lot of research, and the only danger to the baby is in the last trimester when the lungs finally develop. My doctor specializes in high risk pregnancy (it was just a fluke that I found him, I wasn't high risk) and he said that he has never seen any problems with it. I stopped taking the Zoloft during the last trimester because I could, but if Mom needs it to have a successful and happy pregnancy, then take it! Its not the end of the world, and the research I read said that being stressed while pregnant is more dangerous and harmful to the baby. Relax and know that you are doing the best you can. Congrats on the baby!

I took them with my first - started about halfway through. I also am now on them again with my second, started right about the same time.

For me, the hormones send me wonky and I NEED the medication to function.

My daughter was perfectly healthy. Had some reflux and a bit of colic - would only sleep with someone holding her, but that could be due to anything.

I did double-check with my doctor about it this time (I had a prescription from before my second pregnancy for PMDD) and he said that they have reclassified them to a class C, but he still considers them a class B. Said he's been prescribing them to pregnant women for 20 years and the only problem he's seen with it is maybe a bit of withdrawal shaking in the few few hours.

I finally decided to "give in" with my first when I read studies that showed behavioral problems with adolesents who were born to mothers with depression during their pregnancies. There's risk either way - our hormones affect the baby as much as medicine.

My best friend was on Zoloft during both of her pregnancies. Her second child was born with a deformed heart, was whisked away by helicopter to Children's Hospital on life support, underwent open heart surgery and didn't come home until he was close to four months old.
Thank God he is okay now (he's six) but he has ongoing health issues and his cardiologist has advised that he should never play sports due to the fact that if his heart rate gets too high he could go into cardiac arrest.
My friend and her husband were part of a group lawsuit against the company and were compensated for their son's condition.

I had to take them while I was pregnant with my 2nd , My son is perfect. He WAS in distress when he was born, but that wasn't due to meds, he got stuck, had to be pulled out by emergency C section and had lungs full of fluid.

I took Paxil during my pregnancy, because I had been taking it for years and my doctor did not want to risk me going off of them, and I had no complications (despite being high risk due to weight, age, high blood pressure), and my baby was perfectly healthy and happy. He just turned 4!

The chances of problems occurring are very small, and the truth is, there is always a risk of a baby having a health issue, whether or not you take a medication. I talked over all of this with my doctor when I was planning on conceiving (she was a specialist in the effects of medications on the fetus). She assured me that it was well worth the very small risk and helped me transition to drugs that were at the time considered the safest for pregnancy. And, as others have pointed out, there has been some research demonstrating that depression can have as bad or worse effects on the child as the medication.

I also took Zoloft. I tried really hard not to, but I just had to. If you are prone to depression, and take medication during pregnancy, I THINK you are less likely to have post partum depression, or that it will be less severe.

I urge you to talk to a (good) psychiatrist, not MD, about the pros and cons rather than get anecdotal opinions/advice. I could give you different experiences, but I really hope you weigh the decision with a trusted medical advisor who listens to what YOU need.