by Louise-Anne Geddes, Mindful Mum, 13th January 2012

The study was carried out by researchers at the Centre for Pharmacoepidemiology at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm Sweden.  They reviewed 1.6 million births in total between 1996 and 2007 in five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and the babies were assessed after 33 weeks.

Research and findings

1,618,255 births were analysed during the study. Approximately 11,000 of the mothers had a prescription for anti-depressants in late pregnancy and approximately 17,000 in early pregnancy. Those who did fill out a prescription were generally older mothers who also smoked. Another 54,184 mothers were identified as having undergone psychiatric diagnosis but not currently taking any medication.

The study took into consideration factors which included:

• Persistent pulmonary hypertension
• Maternal smoking
• BMI (in early pregnancy)
• Year of birth
• Birth weight
• Maternal diseases (including epilepsy, lupus, bowel disease, arthritis and pre eclampsia

Several drugs and their uses were analysed.  These included fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, citalopram, paroxetine, sertraline, fluvoxamine and escitalopram.

Results and conclusions

The results found that of 11,014 mothers who used anti-depressants in late pregnancy just 33 babies were born with persistent pulmonary hypertension.   Of 17,053 mothers who used anti-depressant drugs in early pregnancy, just 32 babies were diagnosed with persistent pulmonary hypertension. For mothers using anti-depressants, factors such as being born small for gestational age, or by C-section did not influence the likelihood of having a child with persistent pulmonary hypertension.

The authors acknowledge that the risk of developing pulmonary persistent hypertension is low (around three cases per 1000 women which more than doubles if anti-depressants are taken in late pregnancy).  However, they still advise caution when treating pregnant women with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s).

Further information and support

To find out more about antidepressants and advice on their use, see NHS Choices – Antidepressants.  Live Well – depression offers support and advice for people living with depression and Depression during pregnancy offers practical support and information.

Source: BMJ News release, Expectant mothers on antidepressants risk newborns with high blood pressure, 12 January 2012

Photography: Nina Jean @flickr