by Krissi Lyn Mazon

Created on: March 03, 2010   Last Updated: March 04, 2010

Any man-made drug is a bad idea while pregnant, especially any type that specifically deals with altering hormones of any kind.  However, in many cases, the benefits clearly outweigh the risks.  Looking at depression and the associated medications, both the doctor, the patient, and the patient's family all should be involved in making such a determination.  Some depression sufferers only have mild depression and may be able to safely wean off and stay off, if they choose, any and all medications.  Mild sufferers can learn coping strategies and their family can do the extra work to ensure the patient has the stress-free, (as much as can be), pregnancy that they are going to need.

Some patients would put themselves, their baby, or others at an elevated to high risk if  taken off their current anti-depressant medications.  In these more extreme cases, since the pregnancy could very well be at physical risk, it becomes much safer to just accept the risks of medication instead.  Many patients are able to make good decisions regarding their mental health on their own, but all are encouraged to speak with their family and doctor.  High risk cases should put more emphasis on the opinion of experts and the people closest to them.  Having an open discussion will be useful in caring for any mother-to-be and her feelings on the matter should never be dismissed.

For women who can do without their medication, they will have to decide whether they want to pursue a more natural pregnancy and must be well informed.  A lot of drugs are considered "safe" during pregnancy.  A mother is going to have to give either more weight to her thoughts on what is safe versus what the medical community currently thinks is safe.  At one time, the prescription drug, Paxil, was thought to be safe for pregnant women.  It is now known to be related to several different types of birth defects. There are also other risks that have not been documented scientifically: does increasing the amount of the hormone, Serotonin, cause a fetus to develop far less Serotonin receptors than normal?  No one can really say for sure as of yet.  How about the side effects of the drug; the mother might not have any adverse reaction, but what if the baby is the complete opposite? Sometimes, the best expert in a woman's life is, well, her.

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