For those taking one in the class of medication known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which includes drugs like Prozac and Zoloft (among others), the risk was doubled.
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The authors say women who took antidepressants during pregnancy – especially during the second and third trimesters – had an increased risk of having a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
Berard’s team studied more than 145,000 children born in Quebec between 1998 and 2009.
While the study found that the average risk for autism rose by 87 percent among children of mothers who used antidepressants during pregnancy, autism remains a relatively rare condition.
Children exposed to antidepressants within the second or third trimester of pregnancy had an 87 percent higher risk of developing autism spectrum disorder.
Depression and antidepressant use during pregnancy is exceedingly common and the safety debate surrounding this issue is often the topic of many medical studies and news reports. More careful analysis showed it was only the SSRIs.
In Canada, 4.5 per cent of pregnant women have reported using antidepressants.
Dr. Eva Pressman, who chairs the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Rochester in NY, says the study raises more questions than it answers. Bérard told CTV News. She speculates that SSRIs and some other antidepressants could be hurting the ability of the brain to fully develop in the womb.
And it noted the study does little to clarify the issue for women struggling with whether or not to take medication while pregnant. The study did not account for the severity of depression, the dose of the antidepressant or how much of the medications they actually took.
Across the USA, roughly 2.2 percent of children ages 3 to 17 have autism. Studies have found that treating a pregnant woman’s depression with medications decreases the risk that they will give birth prematurely, Wang said, and women whose depression is under control may be able to take better care of themselves and their children.
Three percent of the babies in the study were exposed to antidepressants during pregnancy.
What the study can not show is why there was a higher risk in some women.
But more importantly, she says women who are depressed need to plan their pregnancies and inform themselves of the possible risks of the medications they are taking. Depression and autism both have a very strong genetic roots.
In an editorial about this study, Bryan H. King, MD, MBA, of Seattle Children’s Hospital, warned against demonizing any one factor – including antidepressant use during pregnancy – as the definite cause of autism.
She also said that the risk of autism that is attributable to antidepressants is still low in absolute terms.
In the study, the researchers found that 1,054, or.
“It makes no more sense to suggest that (antidepressants) should always be avoided than to say they should never be stopped”, writes King.
Around one in seven women suffer depression during pregnancy.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is linked to mood, but also has other functions.
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Scientists are trying to weigh the risks of untreated depression while pregnant compared to taking antidepressants.
