Health: Does Mother's Mental Health Affect Pregnancy?

Three common
mental health disorders --
depression, panic disorder and
generalized anxiety disorder -- pose
no serious threat to pregnant
women or the health of their babies, a new study finds.
"I think a major take-home message is that women are not
harming their babies if they have one of these psychiatric
conditions," said study lead author Kimberly Yonkers of Yale
University.
She and her team followed more than 2,600 pregnant women
at 137 clinical practices in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
The researchers did find slight risks associated with certain
psychiatric medications used to treat those conditions. For
instance, babies of women who took benzodiazepines had
slightly lower birth weights and needed additional ventilator
support in 61 of 1,000 cases. Benzodiazepines, which include
Xanax (alprazolam), Valium (diazepam) and Ativan
(lorazepam), are commonly prescribed for panic and anxiety
disorder.
Also, taking a class of antidepressants called serotonin
reuptake inhibitors was tied to shortened gestation by 1.8
days. These drugs include Paxil (paroxetine), Prozac
(fluoxetine) and Zoloft (sertraline).
Antidepressants were also linked to high blood pressure-
related conditions in 53 of 1,000 pregnancies, and with higher
rates of minor respiratory treatments after birth.
However, the study only found associations, not cause-and-
effect relationships.
"Many women require treatment with these medications
during pregnancy, and these findings do not suggest they
should discontinue treatment," said Yonkers, a professor of
psychiatry, epidemiology, and obstetrics, gynecology, and
reproductive sciences.
"Instead, women should work together with their doctors to
find the lowest possible dosages and adhere to good health
habits like healthy diet and exercise, and avoidance of
cigarettes and alcohol," Yonkers said in a Yale news release.
The study was published Sept. 13 in the journal JAMA
Psychiatry.