Anti-Depressants During Pregnancy And/or Nursing

From my research, wellbutrin is supposed to be safe for pregnancy and breast feeding. At the time I was researching it was the safest of all the antidepressants, but that was a few years ago so it may be worth researching again.

I have issues with panic/anxiety and slight depression. I stayed on my medication (Paxil) throughout my entire pregnancy. I did make some changes once I was pregnant. I went off of the controled release formula and went down to the lowest dosage I could. I did see someone through most of my pregnancy just to make sure it was all good. It was my decision, and my OBGYN supported my decision. I have a wonderful, brilliant child and would do the same in any following pregnancy. I tried in the beginning to wean off meds, but as my OBGYN and I discussed sometimes the stress of not having the meds is worse than staying on them. I know that there are many women who will disagree with me, but I know I made the right decision and I will make it again! I did not breast feed because of a personal decision not because of medication.

During nursing I know a combination of zoloft and well butrin work safely.

The biggest thing I can recommend is contacting Motherrisk.org
It's a phone call to Canada but it is so worth it, they have women who come into their clinic whose milk is tested, so they have a lot of data on many drugs (prescription and OTC) and have lots of data that many docs don't even have on drugs during pregnancy.

If you can do natural, that's great . I couldn't. I was stuck on the meds when I accidentally got pregnant with #1...I have never been able to wean off due to the withdrawls (Effexor XR, never do I recommend it unless there's nothing else!). I tried to wean off while pregnant, and it just totally messed me up...the withdrawls mixed with first time pregnancy hormones, not good.

At any rate, as far as I can tell, my son has not had any problems. I had a natural birth so I could tell if he had any side effects or not (I didn't want there to be a question of epidural reaction vs. drug reaction). There were honestly none. He was a normal baby, he is a normal kiddo now. We nursed until he was 2; he weaned himself when I got pregnant with #2.

2nd time I didn't try to go off my medicine, just stayed on it throughout the pregnancy. Daughter has had no adverse effects and was also fine after birth. At 9 months old she nurses like a champ and seems to show no effect.

I'm not saying there's no risks, it's just the info I got from Motherrisk for both pregnancies made me feel confident that I could continue to do things as I'd plan with minimal risk. Sometimes sadly something stronger then natural is needed during pregnancy and post-partum...pregnancy hormones can be very traumatizing for some women. I also take lots of Fish Oil, B-Complex, exercise, Calcium/magnesium, multi-vitamins.

A book that really helped me is called Pregnancy Blues and I highly recommend it if you get pregnant or if you just want to thumb through it now, since it does talk about nursing.

Hi MM,

I am sorry to hear about this. I have heard about a product it is an all natural antioxidant that is helping people stay "steady, balanced and in control". Many people with different scenario's have stated stated they no longer need their medications and during their counseling sessions were told how great they were doing.

When I first started taking OPC+ I asked my pediatrician and gynocologist as i was nursing and trying to get pregnant with a 2nd baby. Both of them looked at the ingredients and sad absolutely! My Gyno suggested that I should be taking it especially since I was nursing as it was giving my baby extremely good nutrition.

I took the antioxidant and still do but a total of 6 months while nursing and am very happy I did.

You can call me or email me about this or do your own research at www.isxperia.com/S. and look under nutritionals for OPC+. They also give away a free sample so that you can get it and take it to your doctor for their advice.

Good luck. S. ###-###-####

Hi, I'm K., mom of four teenagers and married to my best friend for 19+ years. I've got a couple of suggestions. First, one of my sisters is prone to depression. She now takes b-complex every day and finds it levels her emotions and helps her sleep better.
Second thing I'd suggest finding a Christian Church. If you want to talk about why I suggest that, please feel free to email me.
I wish you all the best.
K.

Rather than trying any of those horrible anti-depressant drugs that could do you and your babies harm, I would highly suggest trying something natural first. SamE worked great for me. If it's not enough, you may need some additional B's.

T.

Hi,
I can speak from experience on this one. Although I didn't take an medication (as I wanted to go natural) and since it sounds like you may not want to take meds, here's what helped me...

I started taking Vemma (www.drinkyourvemma.com) which is guaranteed - and I started including a flax seed supplement (for Omega 3's) and the difference has been night and day!!
You really don't have to suffer through it, and neither does your husband.

If you (or others reading) have any questions, feel free to call or write to me.
###-###-#### (Tucson)
____@____.com

P.S. I am also a birth and postpartum doula/childbirth educator/lactation educator ;)

Best,
C.

Hi There,
I'm with you with struggling with depression. I have a history of it, and some of my family members do to... With my first pregnancy, I had such a PPD problem (post partum depression), and I was too embarrassed and afraid to ask for help. And I never did. I went through that mess for over a year before my body regained control...and there are still times where I think I'm going nuts. My son is now four years old. And I'm pregnant with number 2.
Your OB/GYN would be best to ask about this, because even if you get on one antidepressant, they could always switch you to something else that would be best for baby. You could also talk to your Pharmacist too. They are much more educated in the Pharmacology of meds and will be able to help you there as well. If you want another baby, (me too), I would suggest trying now if you can and want to. After we have our second baby, due at the end of this month, we're going to work on one more. But while we're working on that one more, I will this time, ask for help with PPD. I certainly don't want to end up pulling my hair out while taking care of a baby, my four year old and my hubby too. I think sometimes I make my hubby want to take something for depression too because of what I put him through at times. LOL Bless his heart.
I would definitely talk to your PCP (primary care physician), and or OB/GYN and perhaps work out a plan. Even though you start on an Anti depressant now, being pregnant will throw your hormones into a loop again anyway, so hopefully there will be something out there that would lesson that part too.
Good luck to you. :-) Many blessings to you and your family and everything will work out!

Diet and exercise are very important as stated by another poster, however sometimes it is not enough to correct brain chemistry that has been off for a long time. I took zoloft generic during pregnancy and continued on it through breastfeeding. I am in the counseling field and I also consulted a psychiatrist who specializes in PPD just to make sure that I had all of the information up to date and correct. Zoloft secretes a minute amount into the breast milk and is the known safest (at this time) for breastfeeding. For pregnancy, right now Wellbutrin is believed to be the safest, however there is actually more data on the SSRI's which include prozac, zoloft, paxil etc and they are believed to be one of the safest as well. In the past two years there has been a (flawed) study released that showed the SSRI's have a very small chance of pulmonary problems in the infant HOWEVER both of my doctors obgyn, and perinatologist had not seen ONE case of this in all of their years of practice. I decided to stay on the ssri and we were and are both fine. If you want anymore information, please feel free to private message me. All the best!

forgive me for some unsolicted advice: have you tried diet nd exercise to treat your depression? it's shown it's actually more effective than meds, but most couselors don't mention it (not as easy as popping a pill). i have successfully treated my depression for 3 yrs with cognitive therapy, regular exercise and diet control (cutting out fast food, msg, cured meat, preservatives, artificial color and flavor, artificial sweetner).

I take/took Wellbutrin XL all through my pregnancy and nursing. My OBGYN feels that it's the only safe one. You may check it out.

Any pharmaceutical product should be avoided during pregnancy and nursing - they are all toxic. I know of some all natural things that can help to elevate your mood and combat depression. I am a certified herbal consultant and would be happy to answer any questions you may have. If you are interested you can check out my website: www.shootingstarherbs.amazonherb.net.

My doctor gave me zoloft after delivering my baby...I was also nursing her too! I don't think there are any safe meds to take while pregnant because when I found out I was pregnant I was on paxil and my Dr had me get off right away...I really couldn't tapper off like I should have....now I see adds looking for women who have had children with problem that took paxil whil pregnant...worth the the withdrawls I went throught!!!

So sorry to hear that you are struggling with depression. I too struggle with depression and needed to be on antidepressants while i was pregant and nursing in order to function. I was placed on Zoloft (the generic actually) after I was 3 months pregnant, and I am still taking it. My daughter is 18 months, and shows no side effects. I breast fed for 10 months. I never went to counseling because my depression wasn't caused by anything physical, so there was not anything for me to talk about. I know that there are risks with any medication, during pregnancy and nursing, but for me it came down to being able to provide the best for my child.
Best of luck.

Zoloft is the most breastfeeding friendly anti-depressant, however I don't think it is recommended for the last trimester of pregnancy.

Check out the link below for more detailed info. Kellymom.com is one of the best sites out there for breastfeeding.

http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/antidepressants-hale1...