Anti-Depression Pills Prescribed During Pregnancy Increase Risk of Lung Complications In Newborns: Study

Taking anti-depression pills in pregnancy may result in breathing problems in newborns, reveals a recent Canadian study.

Anti-depression pills prescribed during pregnancy carry side effects. They cause a rare lung complication in infants called persistent pulmonary hypertension. Persistent pulmonary hypertension occurs when high pressure in the lungs prevents proper circulation of oxygen to the rest of the body and can further lead to long term respiratory problems in children.

Researchers from BMJ, Canada, have based their findings on data collected from seven other studies that have explored the side effects of antidepressants prescribed during pregnancy, on both the mother and fetus.

According to the researchers, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), a most common antidepressant prescribed during late pregnancy, often causes long-term lung problems in newborns. However, the cases reported due to this are not high. Such breathing problems have occurred in less than even 1 percent of the babies, (3.5 out of every 1,000) found to be suffering from lung complications.

"Women taking these medications in pregnancy should not panic," said Dr. Sophie Grigoriadis, the lead author of the study, reports WebMD. The risk is still quite low,"

 Whether to go for the medications or not can be a tough decision for pregnant women as the researchers found the benefits of the antidepressants to be comparatively higher in respect to its ill effects.

One in every five pregnant women suffers from depression. Depression if left untreated can result in further pregnancy issues like poor food habits, sleeping problems, missing appointments and increase in substance abuse. Babies of such mothers in turn are less active, get easily irritated and lack attention. An earlier study has shown that depression during pregnancy may result in premature and low birth babies.

Depression during pregnancy can either be mild or severe in nature. Mild depression can be treated with therapies and counseling, according to the researchers. "It is imperative that the mother's health be weighed heavily in treatment decisions; she and her family must be counseled on both the risks of exposing the fetus to antidepressant drugs and the risks of severe depressive illness," states the study.

Treatments are available for persistent pulmonary hypertension and infants do response well to the treatment, according to Grigoriadis. An earlier study revealed that usage of SSRI during pregnancy can later cause autism and even long-term neurobehavioral health conditions in children.