Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) in Pregnancy: a Review

Major affective disorders including depression and anxiety occur commonly in women of childbearing age and their incidence can increase during and after pregnancy. There is a critical clinical demand for treatment of these disorders, but the balance between treating affective disorders without harming the developing fetus is a difficult one. This has created concern both among women planning pregnancies, and those women who are pregnant already, as well as among families and healthcare providers. Currently, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the drugs of choice for the treatment of these disorders in pregnant women because of their documented efficacy and mild side effect profile. There is some research concerning SSRI use and pregnancy, which is the focus of this article.