Study says there’s no increase of birth defects
Canadian scientists have determined that taking anti-depressants during the first trimester of pregnancy doesn’t increase the risk of birth defects. Researchers at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto followed 928 women who took one of 11 types of anti-depressants in the first three months of pregnancy, and compared them to the same number of pregnant women who weren’t taking the medication to measure the incidents of malformations. The number of birth defects were similar in both groups, with 30 major birth defects in the anti-depressant group, and 31 in the other group. The researchers say the study should reassure women to keep treating their depression, since going untreated would give them six-time higher risk of developing postpartum depression over women who don’t take anti-depressants.