June 2014

Over the past two decades, a number of scientific studies have demonstrated that exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor drugs (SSRIs) can have adverse effects on a developing fetus.  Here, I’ll reference a pair of European studies that cite these adverse effects.

First, an article titled “[Withdrawal symptoms in a neonate following exposure

In the December, 2007 edition of Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, a team of Swedish researchers led by R. Lennestål titled “Delivery outcome in relation to maternal use of some recently introduced antidepressants.” explores birth outcomes for babies exposed to antidepressant drugs such as serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor drugs (SNRIs) and noradrenergic reuptake inhibitors

A study titled “Effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and venlafaxine during pregnancy in term and preterm neonates.” published in the January, 2007 edition of Pediatrics by E. Ferreira et al. made great strides in elucidating the connection between preterm birth and gestational exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or Effexor (venlafaxine).

The

An article published in the October, 2010 edition of Canadian Journal of Psychiatry by a team of researchers from Pfizer (Canada), led by É. Ramos, titled “Association between antidepressant use during pregnancy and infants born small for gestational age.” that sheds light on the connection between gestational exposure to SSRI drugs and low

In 2005, T.F. Oberlander et al. published results of a study titled “Pain reactivity in 2-month-old infants after prenatal and postnatal serotonin reuptake inhibitor medication exposure.” in the medical journal Pediatrics, demonstrating further the risks of prenatal exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor drugs, or “SSRIs.”

The team writes “In this

In 2012, an article by B.B. McAllister et al. published in Neuroscience titled “Behavioural outcomes of perinatal maternal fluoxetine treatment.” further illustrates the risks tied to prenatal fluoxetine (Prozac) exposure, demonstrating resulting developmental issues in gestational mice.

The team writes “During and following pregnancy, women are at considerable risk of experiencing depression. For