Prozac and Pregnancy

Hi A.,
Continuing Prozac during pregnancy can be a hot topic with some physicians. When I found out I was expecting my daughter I was taking a 40mg dose daily and was instructed to discontinue it. I was then placed on Zoloft to treat my depression with no results. I requested that I be allowed to resume my prozac and was able to finish out my pregnancy in a much happier state. My nurse midwife felt that the slight risks associated with Prozac were greatly outweighed by the benefits to my mood. What I have researched shows that the prozac can cause sleeplessness in newborns however I didnt have any issues with my baby sleeping well. She is a great sleeper! There may be more concerns for taking it during pregnancy but this is the one I found most cited as a reason to not take it during pregnancy. Just be open and honest with your doctor's and share your concerns with them.
I was also new to my area when I found out I was expecting so I was meeting a whole new set of doctor's nurse's, after having been under the same physicians care for 10 years previously, so I was also concerned about how the my new healthcare providers would feel about this subject. By telling them how I felt and being open to their suggestions I feel that it made the decision easier for both my providers and myself.
Hope this helps!
E.

There has been some research lately about antidepressants taken during pregnancy. If you need it, you need it, but do remind your doctors during the delivery that your are on it, and also the nursery personnel that are there for the delivery. Sometimes the babies need extra support after the delivery.

I was on prozac during my first pregnancy. Out of all of the anti depressants, it was considered to be one of the safest at that time (about 5 years ago) as there had been no studies showing any ill effects to the fetuses or newborns. I didn't see any problems with my daughter after she was born at all and I was glad that I had the extra "help" from the medication. Taking any psychotropic med during pregnancy can have anything from very mild and minor risk, to extreme risk, but you always have to weight the benefits vs. the risk. If you were taking any of the meds to control bipolar disorder or psychotic symptoms (drugs like lithium or risperdal, etc,) you would definitely be putting your baby at risk. But again, my understanding is that prozac is one of the safest drugs you can take during pregnancy. Good luck!

I would check specifically with your obgyn. I was on a certain medication and my family doctor said it was ok, but when I talked to the OBGYN, it was definitely a no. Get more than one opinion and steer on the better safe side. I figured my family doctor would know, but apparently all doctors have different standards for treatment and safety. Hope this helps!

Dear A., I took Prozac before I knew I was pregnant. I had fears when my pregnancy was confirmed. My doctor (a very good internal medicine specialist) told me there was not enough research done on the long term effects on fetuses. However, if I was depressed there are certainly consequences to me and by extension, my family. Not to mention the increased rate of suicide among depressed people. I stayed on it. My son is 21 years old and graduating from OSU soon. Sometimes he acts a little 'nuts' to me (: , but don't they all at times? Hopefully, there is more research that your doctor might be privy to. All the best to you.