new YORK (Reuters Health) – babies of women

treated with antidepressants during pregnancy could

present a slightly slower head growth and be

more likely to be born prematurely, he noted a study

carried out in Holland.

Even so, that no proof that these drugs, inhibitors

selective reuptake of serotonin ( SSRIS), they altered

the development of babies or that the observed differences

end up causing effects in the long run.

“The accumulated data continue to be controversial”, he said

Christina Chambers, of University of California in San Diego, and

did not participate in the study.

“Is not simply to know if a woman took or not a

drug. “They are all items associated with the disease than

are trying to, the duration of the use of the medication and everything

what that surrounds it”, asserted.

In the study, infants of women with depression, but

that they did not take drugs, they also showed a growth

body slower than infants of women without depression.

The team of Dr. Henning Tiemeier of Medical Center

Erasmus, Rotterdam, studied to nearly 8,000 pregnant for a

more ambitious study on the future mothers and their babies, in the

conducted quarterly controls by ultrasound for

assess fetal growth.

Most of the participants had few symptoms of

depression, while 570 was the disease but not

used drugs and other 99 were taking an SSRI.

In the womb, babies of women with depression but without

treatment, though less each week than babies of the

women without depression. The growth of the babies head

of the first group was also a little slower than the of the

babies of the other group.

Maternal antidepressant treatment did not alter the

fetal body growth, but of the head, with one

difference of 0.18 mm per week. At the time of delivery, the

those babies head was some 4 mm smaller than the of the

babies for women without depression.

“Someone might say that half a centimeter (…)” isn’t

both. “But we think that, since it is not so much the variation to the

birth, that half a centimeter is quite significant”, said

Tiemeier.

He explained that the SSRI cross the placenta and can become

to the fetal brain and alter its development, although this study no

was able to demonstrate if it would increase the risk that children

develop behavioural problems or mental in the future.

Babies exposed to antidepressants were also more

likely than the rest to be born prematurely: 10 percent

of pregnant women treated with SSRIS had a preterm,

compared to 6 per cent of women with depression without

try and 5 percent of women without depression, according to

pointed out the team in Archives of General Psychiatry.

Tiemeier recommended that women with depression who want to

pregnant talk with their doctors about the risks and

the benefits of antidepressants, and consider the use of the

psychotherapy.

“The general idea is that this type of medication is not a

“”

big problem in pregnancy”, said Chambers, who also

considered that it should take into account the effects of the lack of

treatment and depressive feelings during pregnancy and

after childbirth.

Results were the participants treated with SSRIS

lower than women with depression untreated in tests

for assessing depressive symptoms.

“The appropriate during pregnancy maternal treatment is

“”

good for the baby for many reasons”, said Chambers. “When

the risks are low and manageable (…)” “what matters is to be

the best possible mother during and after pregnancy”, indicated.

Source: Archives of General Psychiatry, online March 5

2012.