Posted by SLS on July 25, 2004, at 8:44:18
In reply to Lexapro and Pregnancy, posted by duchess on July 25, 2004, at 7:16:52
> Ive been on Lexapro for nine months now. I want to get pregnant but I am wary of doing this on the meds. Has anybody out there gone through a pregnancy on Lexapro and given birth without and problems? I cant seem to get any clear information on the possible side effects to the baby.
> Thanks
> Duchess
Hi Duchess.What have you come up with so far?
What a difficult decision to make. There is so much conflicting information. That so many people who post material on the Internet have agendas to peddle makes things even more difficult.
When I looked into this a number of years ago, this is what I came up with:
1. Tricyclics have been proven safe with over 40 years of experience
2. SSRIs have no greater risk of producing birth defects
3. SSRIs might have an increased risk of premature births and miscarriages#1 still applies
#2 At one time, it was suggested to discontinue an SSRI during the first trimester to be sure of preventing birth defects. This is no longer true from what I can see. On the contrary, some are recommending discontinuing the drug during the last trimester to help prevent a withdrawal syndrome from being experienced by the fetus.
#3 The original concerns regarding miscarriage and premature births have dissipated as more data has been collected.
I think it is a given that infants will experience a withdrawal syndrome from an SSRI (or Effexor) immediately after birth. In the past, this has been mistakenly ascribed to common colic, but can be much more serious. I don't know what are the statistical chances of this happening. I wouldn't necessarily be afraid of it so much as I would just be aware of it. If it makes any difference, I think Lexapro would be much less likely to cause this than Effexor or Paxil.
You know, it's an interesting thing about pregnancy. Many woman find that pregnancy makes for a good antidepressant. You might be able to taper off of Lexapro once you become pregnant and restart it afterwards.
What do you think would happen if you were to stop taking Lexapro? How would it affect your day to day functioning?
Make sure you take plenty of folic acid.
Good luck and God bless.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:370218
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040724/msgs/370236.html