OK to Breastfeed While on Antidepressants

The benefits of staying on antidepressants even while breast feeding outweigh the risks according to the preliminary findings of new research out from the University of Adelaide in Australia.

The findings, which were presented at the 18th Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand Annual Conference in Perth, show that the potential risk of taking antidepressants while breast feeding are heavily outweighed by the confirmed and serious risks of not being medicated while experiencing postpartum depression.

A significant amount of research has shown that the medication a mother is taking can sometimes reach a newborn baby through breast milk. Experts worry that numerous drugs, including anti-depressants, that are intended for adults will have serious adverse effects of a developing child's mind and body.

However, researchers from the University of Adelaide in Australia argue that the well-known risks associated with postpartum depression -- which threaten both mother and child -- are too serious to be ignored for the sake of suspected risks.

According to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), postpartum depression threatens both the mother and the child, where symptoms like insomnia, fatigue, severe mood swings, and even suicidal thoughts can interfere with a mother's ability to take care of herself and the newborn child. Antidepressants have been clinically proven to help women going through postpartum depression manage the condition. It has even been recommended that women on antidepressant prior to pregnancy or giving birth should stay on the medication to help lower the chances of this terrible condition.

However, according to the results of this latest research, researchers found that in a sample size of women who were on antidepressants prior to becoming pregnant, 67 percent of them chose to stop taking their medication after becoming pregnant or once they began breast feeding their child.

Interestingly, in an assessment of mental health and each woman's ability to breast feed, the researcher found that a third of the women who continued taking their medication throughout pregnancy proved significantly more successful at maintaining breast feeding and caring for their child even despite depressive symptoms.

The results of this research were presented at the 18th Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand Annual Conference in Perth and should be viewed as preliminary findings until published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

A press release detailing the findings was published on April 10.