Pregnancy is a very challenging time for any woman. Drastic changes happen to the body, which often result to chronic depression that sometimes leads to alcohol and drugs. This may cause long-term effect for the mother and her baby during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.
Most doctors will recommend women to take a couple of prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs during pregnancy as possible since it appears that women who suffer from depression is a no win situation and failure to manage depression may affect the health of both mother and child.
Women who are severely depressed in pregnancy may not get the right amount of nutrition or sleep needed to help make their baby strong and healthy and help their bodies adjust to the physical demands of pregnancy. As a result, complication in the pregnancy might occur and even give birth to an unhealthy baby.
Safe Antidepressants in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
• Prozac. It is considered comparatively safe to take in pregnancy but not for those who plan to breastfeed. Prozac has longer half-life than most antidepressants and may risk the baby of having toxic levels in their bloods.
• Zoloft and Paxil. Studies show that these two are the drugs of choice for breastfeeding women since infants exposed to Paxil and Zoloft had untraceable levels of the antidepressant in their blood.
Post-partum depression can develop from baby blues- general flattening of emotions that has been going on for weeks. If this happens, it is important to consult a doctor immediately for it to be treated. Most physicians agree that it is best to prescribe antidepressant on pregnancy week and then wait until the baby is born.