Taking antidepressants while you’re pregnant ‘increases the risk your child will have speech problems’
The study looked at women who were prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
MUMS-TO-BE who take antidepressants during pregnancy are more likely to have children who suffer speech disorders, according to new research.
The study showed that children of mums who took antidepressants at least twice during pregnancy had a 37 per cent increased risk of speech or language disorders.
That is compared to the kids of mothers with depression and other psychiatric disorders who weren't treated with the pills.
Professor Alan Brown, of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health in New York, said: "To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the relationship between maternal anti-depressant use and speech or language, scholastic, and motor disorders in offspring."
The speech or language disorders included expressive and receptive language disorders, as well as those involving articulation of sounds.
The study looked at women who were prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) - such as fluoxetine, citalopram and sertraline.
These drugs are increasingly used in pregnancy, and are absored by the the placenta, entering the foetal circulation.
Researchers examined a sample of 845,345 single, live births between 1996 and 2010, taken from national registries in Finland.
The exposure groups were classified as mums who bought SSRIs once or more before or during pregnancy, those who were diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder one year before or during pregnancy but did not buy anti-depressants, and mums who didn't buy anti-depressants and weren't given depression-related diagnoses.
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Since the extent of SSRI exposure was greater for mothers with more than one SSRI buy during pregnancy, Professor Brown and colleagues also examined exposure by number of purchases.
Professor Brown said: "We believe that our finding about children of mothers who purchased at least two SSRI prescriptions during pregnancy is particularly meaningful because these women are more likely to have taken these medications, and more likely to have been exposed for a longer period and to larger amounts of the SSRI in pregnancy, compared to women who filled only one prescription."
But he said in the whole sample, regardless of number of purchases, the risk of speech or language disorders was increased among the children of mums who used SSRI during pregnancy.
The risk was also increased in the offspring of mothers with depression and other psychiatric disorders who did not take an SSRI.
There also was no evidence that maternal SSRI exposure was related to academic performance and motor disorders in offspring.
Professor Brown added: "The strengths of our study include the large, population based birth cohort, prospective data on SSRI purchases during pregnancy, a comparison group of mothers with depression who were not taking antidepressants, and an extensive national register database that included other known confounders.
"However, the severity of maternal depression cannot be ruled out as an explanation for the increased childhood speech and language disorders among mothers who filled more than one SSRI prescription, and further study is warranted."
What are SSRIs?
- SSRIs are a type of antidepressant
- It's thought they work by increasing serotonin levels in the brain
- Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, a chemical that carries signals in the brain
- SSRIs are usually taken as pills, but do exist in liquid form
- Sometimes, patients may feel worse before they feel better
Although Professor Brown and his colleagues were unable to confirm that the purchased medications were actually taken, the association between maternal SSRI and clinical speech and language disorders was present only among mothers with more than one SSRI purchase during pregnancy.
He added that earlier studies have also shown correlations between data from prescription registries and self-reported use of anti-depressants.