More on Neonatal Outcomes of SSRI Exposure During Pregnancy

Infants born to mothers who were depressed and being treated with an SSRI were more often cared for in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) during pregnancy has been associated with neonatal outcomes of transient respiratory distress, hypoglycemia, behavior change, and, rarely, persistent pulmonary hypertension.

Researchers evaluated a birth cohort in Sweden (741,040 singletons born during 2006–2012) using national health registers. They found that admission to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) was more frequent in infants exposed to an SSRI during pregnancy (13.7% vs. 8.2%). NICU admission also occurred more frequently when SSRI exposure occurred in late pregnancy compared with early pregnancy only (16.5% vs. 10.8%). Symptoms that were more common in SSRI-exposed infants included respiratory distress (not respir…

Reviewing Author

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics