For mums-to-be who are suffering from depression, pregnancy can be a worrying time. The hormone surges can trigger strong emotions which are hard to deal and pregnancy-related stress can make depression worse.
It’s estimated about 20 per cent of expectant mums suffer from depression, which means there are many pregnant women struggling to manage this condition. It’s vital to look after your mental health but all mums worry that taking medication during pregnancy could harm their little one.
However, a new large-scale study has some good news for mums-to-be struggling with depression. It’s revealed that taking anti-depressants during early pregnancy poses fewer risks to the unborn baby than previously thought and links to autism and ADHD are unfounded.
Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Indiana University and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found that mothers’ antidepressant use during early pregnancy doesn’t increase a child’s risk of developing autism or attention hyperactivity disorder, even though these conditions had previously been linked with the medication.
They also found that anti-depressant use during pregnancy doesn’t limit the growth of the foetus either. However, there was one worrying finding, the risk of premature birth was 1.3 times higher for babies exposed to anti-depressants.
Lead researcher Dr. Brian D’Onofrio, a professor at the IU Bloomington Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences said: “To our knowledge, this is one of the strongest studies to show that exposure to antidepressants during early pregnancy is not associated with autism, ADHD, or poor fetal growth when taking into account the factors that lead to medication use in the first place.”
Scientists analysed data on all live births between 1996 and 2012, 1.5 million babies in total and also examined the country’s antidepressant use in adults, autism and ADHD diagnoses in children, genetic relationships between parents and children, and more.
To make sure their findings were as accurate as possible, they controlled for other factors which could affect health, such as mother’s age at birth.
Where there was a higher incidence of autism, ADHD and poor fetal growth in the babies of mothers who took anti-depressants, researchers found that the risk was linked to genetic and environmental factors, rather than anti-depressant use.
The interesting findings which were published in the Journal of American Medical Association, could potentially help women suffering from depression early in pregnancy.
Always consult your doctor before taking medication during pregnancy. If you are on anti-depressants and become pregnant, ask your doctor what the best course of action is to manage your condition during pregnancy.
