Should You Treat Depression During Pregnancy?

Whether or not to treat depression while pregnant with prescription anti-depressants is a complex question. Women and their doctors must consider the benefits to mother while weighing the risks to mom and her unborn child.

Two new studies provide information regarding depression and pregnancy, but make the decision no easier.

The first study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that women who stopped taking prescription antidepressants were five times more likely to relapse into depression during pregnancy then women who continued taking antidepressants.

However, a second study shed light to a serious health danger to babies born of mothers who took antidepressants during pregnancy. This study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that women taking antidepressant drugs during pregnancy were six times more likely to have babies with persistent pulmonary hypertension. Persistent pulmonary hypertension is a life-threatening lung condition that prevents babies from getting enough oxygen into their bloodstream.

Most everything a woman takes during pregnancy will make its way to baby. If a woman can manage through pregnancy without the use of pharmaceutical drugs, baby will be better off. If the depression is too serious to avoid intervention, please speak to your doctor about natural alternatives like Deprex. Natural alternatives can be much healthier for mother and baby than using antidepressant drugs. As always, women should discuss all medications and supplements used during pregnancy.