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Results from various studies comparing prenatal history of antidepressant exposure with postnatal effects on the infants have led some researchers to suggest that antidepressants are safe during pregnancy (see Journal Watch Psychiatry Dec 19 2002). To measure antidepressant levels in amniotic fluid, these investigators identified 27 women (1 carrying twins) who were undergoing amniocentesis because of older maternal age or fetal lung immaturity and who had been taking antidepressants (predominantly SSRIs) for at least 4 weeks.
Twelve women took fluoxetine; six took sertraline; two took paroxetine; one each took citalopram, escitalopram, or fluvoxamine; and four took the dual serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor venlafaxine. Amniocente…