What do you think about antidepressants in pregnancy linked to autism?

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   CarlySullensposted 8 years ago

   What do you think about antidepressants in pregnancy linked to autism?
   
   This week in the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article linking women who take antidepressants during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters have an increased risk of giving birth to a child who will be diagnosed with autism.  The study concludes that "use of [antidepressants] during the second and/or third trimester is associated with an 87% increased risk of autism spectrum disorder."
   
   

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2. 91

   Chantelle Porterposted 8 years ago

   I'm not sure what to think. My son has autism and I have never taken antidepressants so go figure. I guess it's something for women who are pregnant to think twice about taking. It does nothing to explain the rest of us though.

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      CarlySullensposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      It is interesting how these findings are limited do not generalize to the whole population.  Every time they seem to get closer to understanding a correlation, it seems there is still a huge mystery that cannot be explained.

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   jlparkposted 8 years ago

   I think it's just another thing to worry expectant parents. I mean, you can't eat ham, sushi, eggs, etc due to risk for bubs. Now you'd have to weigh up yr mental health over your baby's possibility for autism.
   
   It just seems like another way to guilt trip mothers who are trying their best! There is no one to 'blame' for autism - it just is. And people should stop looking for things to blame on parents
   
   Every parent does what they think best during their pregnancy and afterwards for their children. Sometimes things occur that aren't expected and it's no ones fault (and hell even if it was - no changing that now, let's get on dealing with the outcomes).
   
   I stopped a Parkinson's med (used for RLS not Parkinson's for me), whilst I was pregnant due to it being a dopamine agonist, but had to weigh up the other options for treatment (Tramadol being the one we (GP, Pharmacist, partner and I) settled on. I came off an anti-depressant prior to getting pregnant, but had I still needed it, I would have looked at the risks and taken it if the benefits outweighed the risks.
   
   Depression and anxiety isn't something that someone can just switch off, and to add to someone's issues because they need to take anti-depressants through pregnancy....I'd rather the woman survive the pregnancy without killing herself really.

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      CarlySullensposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I agree Jacqui.  Depression and anxiety isn't something a woman can just switch off. Also the SSRIs, the type of antidepressants they studied are not the kind you can abruptly stop.  These include; Celexa, Zoloft, Prozac, and Paxil to name a few.

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   moonlakeposted 8 years ago

   There is something that has caused autism. Many years ago we never saw children with autism. Now there are families that have two children with autism. Why? Years ago there weren't all the meds there are now and meds weren't handed out so freely. If they say it causes autism I wouldn't take them, but I also know how hard that is for the mother who needs them.

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      CarlySullensposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      It's a difficult choice to either take the medication prescribed and necessary for some mother's or to stop and risk the debilitating depression and anxiety.  Neither one is good for the mother and child.

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   RTalloniposted 8 years ago

   While there can be more than one reason a specific disease/disorder, the very serious side effects of antidepressants should continue to be studied and reported for the public to consider.

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   bravewarriorposted 8 years ago

   All I can offer is it's not recommended to take any drugs during pregnancy. We don't know what are in today's medications. From all the side effects mentioned on TV and in the inserts that come with prescription meds, the side effects are greater than the original ailment they're meant to treat.
   
   Our job as mothers is to keep our children safe and that begins in the womb. They are completely dependent upon us. What we ingest goes into their bloodstreams and play an integral part in organ formation and brain function.
   
   I'm no doctor, but if someone suffers from depression, I would think becoming pregnant, then a mom may exasperate the condition. Look at how many women suffer from post-partum depression. They end up severing the bond between mother and child that is so important to the child's well-being.
   
   Imagine finding yourself in a wide open world without the cocooning comfort of your mother's womb. You go from living in liquid to having to breathe air. It's traumatic from the outset. Without having a mother's loving arms to ease the transition, where does that leave the child?
   
   Another thing to think about is the food we ingest and the plastics we absorb, many of which lead to physical disorders and brain malfunction. Even a person's depression may be the result of consuming chemicals through GMO foods. Do an experiment. Go organic and see if you see a difference in your moods/brain activity. "We are what we eat" isn't the answer to everything, but it's worth looking into.

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   SpiritusShepherdposted 8 years ago

   Every Antidepressant is different. The best thing you can do is speak to your psychiatrist so that you can discuss the risks of the particular medication you are taking. I asked my doctor about Zoloft, the medication I have been taking and he explained there were different categories of medicine:
   Category A- Completely Safe for pregnancy, basically only water and perhaps a few other things.
   Category B- Studied and there are possible side effects, but those side effects might have been caused by something else. Zoloft is in this category, some studies show there might be minor danger, but most studies concluded that Zoloft is safe for pregnancy. You just have to weigh the risks. I continued the Zoloft, but stopped my sleeping medications.
   Category C- Not studied so it is not possible to know what the risks are.
   Category X- Studied and not safe for pregnancy.
   There are so many different medications it seems like it would be impossible to study all of them during a woman's pregnancy. I do suppose there are some Antidepressants where this might be true, but not all of them.

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      bravewarriorposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      What are the "other things" in category A? No drugs are safe for fetuses. It's been proven that a mother's use of drugs - whether legal or not - affect the growing fetus. EVERYTHING you pump into your body gets absorbed by your growing baby.

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      SpiritusShepherdposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      He didn't really say, he only mentioned water. Everything we drink, eat or take has risks. For all you know, you could drink poisoned water or something in your city's water could effect the fetus.

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      bravewarriorposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      My city sends out a report annually that shows what's in our water and at what levels.

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      SpiritusShepherdposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I apologize, I was in a bad mood when I wrote that comment. Every drug has some risks, some more than others, sometimes you have to weigh benefits vs risks. If I don't take Zoloft I get migraines and Zoloft is safer than migraine medication.

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