Are there any safe anti-depressants to take while pregnant?

Question

Of course I'm going to talk to my doctor first, just getting other people's opinions. Are anti-depressants at all safe to take while your pregnant(any experience) or can you take something more natural like st.johns wort? I have OCD & I was just wondering if anyone has taken anti-depressants while pregnant. Thanks all. If you can't politely answer, please don't answer at all. :-)

Answer 1

Most anti-depressant haven't been tested with pregnant women. As a pharmacist and mother, I would strongly recommend that you try to stay away from them. We don't have enough information to safely give them to women during pregnancy. There is no way of knowing if in a few years these drugs will be proven to be dangerous to babies. I hope this helps.

Answer 2

I am pretty sure that I read some where you have to stay away from St John wort, as I had a herb garden when I was pregnant and it seems to stick in my mind for some reason. Also there are a few vitamins you shouldn't have any extra doses of (other than what you get naturally), i remember I had to stop using a moisturizer that had vitamin A in it (I think it was "A").
Beware that with any condition to do with emotion can make chances of PND higher and sometimes you don't realise you have post natal depresstion until you come out of it or until someone confronts you with it. So even if you don't have any issues, make sure that every one dealing with you and your baby know that you could be prone to PND, as it will make it so much easier to understand your baby's needs. And if you don't already have a regular doctor with knowledge of your history, it is better to have a doctor who can get to know you well enough to handle your treatment throughout the pregnancy and after, as hormones and emotions only get worse after you finally have the baby and you really want to enjoy every moment because it goes by so quickly!

Answer 3

Well recent studies are leaning towards it being okay to take prozac. My issue with this is that prozac is addictive and if you just quit taking it you will experience horrible withdrawal symptoms. This is from my own personal experience but I wasn't pregnant at the time. Even though they say it is safe enough for the baby, what will happen when the baby is born and their supply of prozac is cut off? Another drug, although not really tested very well yet, is Cymbalta. I was taking this anti-depressant this pregnancy but my OB told me not to and my psychologist told me to keep taking it. I went with the OB on this one because Cymbalta is a class C drug and therefore unproven in pregnancy. Be sure to talk to your OB and other doctor together if you can and get a consensus from the two of them before you start something.

Answer 4

Two women I know has been on anti-depressants during their pregnancy, and they were completely safe for the child.

So, yes, there are safe anti-depressants when pregnant, I just don't know which ones.

Answer 5

I was on Zoloft pre-pregnancy, I was switched to Prozac when we were TTC. Prozac is a class B drug, which is considered safe in pregnancy, Zoloft is a class C drug. The benifits outweight the risk for me, as without medication I'm basically bed ridden with clinical depression.

Answer 6

You REALLY need to be monitored by a doctor. It's dangerous to just stop taking a drug like wellbutrin.

Answer 7

st johns wort from what I understand is a big nono. talk to your dr but heres a website that my midwife told me to look at
www.safefetus.com

Answer 8

yes there are but try taking a time release b complex and c first and see if that doesn't do the trick, good luck

Answer 9

I had to take them with my last pregnancy. Dr gave me Zoloft. Talk with you Dr.

Answer 10

You should not even think of taking any such medications especially in your present state as it may have adverse impact on the unborn child!