Health - Health Canada advisory issues warning on anti-depressant drugs during pregnancy

[klaatu]

Sat, 11 Mar 2006

TORONTO - An advisory issued by Health Canada has warned pregnant women as well as women who are planning to get pregnant to wean off drugs called selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) as recent studies have highlighted the risk to babies born of women who continue to take these drugs in pregnancy. SSRIs are otherwise known as anti-depressants and include popular drugs like Prozac and Paxil.

Recent studies have linked these drugs to a condition called persistent pulmonary hypertension in babies born to women who took SSRIs during pregnancy. "Newborns with this rare but life-threatening condition do not receive enough oxygen in the blood and require intensive-care treatment to survive,'' the advisory said.

"According to the study, babies born with this condition were six times more likely than healthy babies to have been exposed to SSRIs. This information is considered to be preliminary at this time.'' Pulmonary hypertension is basically increased blood pressure in the lungs. This condition is not desirable in newborns or infants.

The advisory also asked women to first talk to their doctors before giving up the drugs, since suddenly stopping the drugs is also associated with side effects. It also noted that the drugs should only be continued if it was felt that the benefits outweighed the risks associated with their intake. The study being referred to in the advisory was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Infants in Canada and abroad exposed to SSRIs appeared to develop lethal complications at birth. "An increase in the overall risk of major birth defects has also been associated with SSRI use,'' the advisory said.

The list of drugs that are thought to be dangerous to pregnant women include:

* Celexa (citalopram).
* Wellbutrin (bupropio
* Cipralex (escitalopram).
* Prozac (fluoxetine).
* Luvox (fluvoxamine).
* Remeron (mirtazapine).
* Paxil (paroxetine).
* Zoloft (sertraline).
* Effexor (venlafaxine).
* Zyban (bupropion).

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