Antidepressants and Pregnancy

When I found out I was preganant I was ALREADY 5.5 months along. I had been on my medication for proabably a year or two prior to getting pregnant. Once the doctor told me I was pregnant I was pulled off it. Jump ahead a week later and I was trying to climb out of my skin with the INSANE withdrawl symptoms. He put me back on a lower dose and eased me off slowly until after my son was born.

I just ASSUMED I'd have postpartum depression but I was just the opposite. I had the weirdest preganancy of anybody I know. :)

My son is fine, just needs speech therapy and is doing great.

It's best to stay on the prescription, it sounds like you need the help still.Whatever you do, do not quite cold turkey as it can be very dangerous and with awful side effects. Perhaps Zoloft would be better than Prozac? Speak to your Dr about your concerns. Pregnant woman and nursing mothers take anti-depressants very commonly. It is better to be healthy of mind when going through these times, then overburdened with depression on top of the rigors that pregnancy and child rearing throw at you.

I took paxil through both my pregnancies and both children came out healthy and smart. My doctor told me a mentally stable mother was important to the well being of the child during pregnancy.

I wish I could have been off it for my pregnancies but it just wasn't to be...but like I said no birth defects and no cognitive issues either.

Sending you a hug...it is a very tough decision.

If you are having problems with depression (which you are, if you're so sad you don't want to get out of bed some days), then take the Prozac. Of course with any medication (even Tylenol!) there are risks. Nothing in life is 100% safe, right? But the use of anti-depressants in pregnant and nursing women has been well studied, and your doctor feels that the benefits outweigh the risks for you.

To put your mind at ease, I was on Zoloft starting at 13 weeks with baby #2. I had had horrible PPD with baby #1, and was starting to show signs of severe depression with pregnancy #2. I started taking the Zoloft and the difference for me was immediate. I felt SO much better! It was like the clouds lifted and I was actually able to feel joy again, and be happy about my pregnancy and take part in the things I enjoyed. I took it until my daughter was 6 months old and I stopped nursing. My daughter (now almost 6 years old) is absolutely fine and perfect! No health issues at all, and she is as bright and happy as she can be!

I just wanted to reassure you that if you have any concerns, speak with your doctor about them. But realize that LOTS of pregnant and nursing women are on anti-depressants and that for the vast majority of those women, the medication causes no ill side effects at all, and provides a great benefit to them. Try not to worry! And, hang in there. :)

I'm not sure. You sound like you are pretty much alone with 2 kids and if there are side effects you are SOL. The depression , with everything you are going thru, actually sounds "normal". If you weren't depressed there would be something wrong with you. On that note, i'd try to work thru your emotions and come up with a way to control the depression when you recognise the triggers that set it off. So if you had a roomate (or au pair or foreign exchange student or adult relative) living with you i'd say maybe try but since you don't you seem strong enough deep inside of you to tackle it. Good luck.

I suffer from depression too, so I know what that's like. If you feel like you can hang in there another 6 weeks or so, that's what I would do. I think I would only go on the medication if I was absolutely unable to function.

I opted not to breastfeed so I could start taking medication the same day the baby was born. It wasn't easy because I had a newborn and, as you know, it takes some time for the medication to kick in. Luckily my DH was very supportive and took a lot off my shoulders so I wouldn't get too overwhelmed.

Only you know what you can handle though, and you need to make a decision based on that.

Congratulations on your pregnancy !!! :)

I took Lexapro my entire pregnancy, and my baby girl was born perfectly healthy. However, I had been taking the same amount for years. I'm not sure about starting SSRIs when you are already pregnant. But if you are stressed and unhappy that can be bad for baby too. Lots of moms take anti-depressants when they are pregnant and have perfectly healthy babys. My doc said to stay away from paxil, but otherwise he had never delivered a baby with probs from a mom on anti-depressants. You need to do what feels right for you. Don't let other moms shame you into not taking them. Your baby needs a happy mommy. Sometimes, with depression, the person in it can't see how bad it really is. In my opinion there really isn't a wrong answer here.

Hope you start feeling better soon,
J. and baby Bethany :)

Have you done research? What did your doc say? I heard Zoloft was the safest. Although I should be on them, I have decided not to while Im pregnant, but then again Im not going through what you are.