Emerging Perspectives: Psychotropic Drugs During Pregnancy — New Data on Neonatal Outcomes

We still know little about the neonatal risks from maternal use of psychotropic drugs during pregnancy, which limits accurate weighing of risks and benefits for expectant mothers. Three big observational studies provide new data.

Using large medical, demographic, and public drug insurance registries in Quebec, researchers focused on women with psychiatric diagnoses (mostly, mood or anxiety disorders) and antidepressant use for at least 1 month in the year before pregnancy. Researchers compared first-trimester antidepressant exposure and duration in 2140 healthy infants and 189 infants with any major congenital malformation in the year after birth. Antidepressants commonly used were paroxetine (42%), sertraline (15%), and venlafaxine (13%). T…