Moms’ antidepressants hit third of newborns: study

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Nearly one in three infants born to
women taking anti-depressant drugs exhibit signs of withdrawal
and expectant mothers may want to limit the drugs they take,
researchers said on Monday.

Symptoms such as high-pitched crying, tremors,
gastrointestinal problems and disturbed sleep may show up in
the first 48 hours after birth and were more pronounced in
infants whose mothers had been taking higher doses.

A closer look at the 37 infants exposed in the womb to
paroxetine hydrochloride, sold as Paxil by GlaxoSmithKline,
showed the risk of symptoms disappeared if the mother’s dosage
was less than 20 milligrams daily while the risk was highest
among those exposed to 27 milligrams or more.

Thirty percent of the 60 newborns exposed to one of the
popular class of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitors (SSRIs) in the womb were found to have withdrawal
symptoms and the symptoms were classified as severe in 13
percent, said the study by Dr. Rachel Levinson-Castiel of the
Children’s Medical Center of Israel, in Petah Tiqwa.

Symptoms usually did not peak until after the first day of
life but the long-term effects are not known, the study said.

Two of the exposed infants suffered seizures but they did
not persist.

Previous studies into the effects of SSRIs on newborns have
identified other symptoms such as rapid breathing, bluish skin
color from lack of oxygen, feeding difficulties, low blood
sugar and jitteriness.

Yet a study published last week by researchers at
Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston said women who need an
antidepressant cannot depend on hormonal changes in pregnancy
to relieve their symptoms so may choose to continue taking the
drug.

“Because maternal depression during pregnancy also entails
a risk to the newborn, the risk-benefit ratio of continuing
SSRI treatment should be assessed,” Levinson-Castiel wrote in
the journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Unfortunately, “the long-term effects of in utero exposure
to SSRIs have not been demonstrated clearly,” not even for
those whose symptoms were severe early on, she wrote.

Both studies recommended pregnant women simplify their drug
regimen to a single drug at the lowest effective dose.