Antidepressants During Pregnancy Research Paper

Postpartum depression can have serious consequences for the health of both mother and child. Indeed, a recent study of 10, 000 postpartum women found 19.3% of women with postpartum depression had considered hurting themselves (5). In the United Kingdom suicide is the leading cause of maternal death in the postpartum period (6). Even in less severe cases, postpartum depression may compromise caregiving practices (e.g., are less likely to use car seats, breastfeed, or ensure that their child receives up to date vaccinations); (7;8) and maternal-infant bonding (e.g., are less responsive to their infants, engage in less face-to-face interactive play and participate in fewer enrichment activities); (7;9;10). These factors may be partly responsible for delayed cognitive, intellectual, social, and emotional development of the child (11-15). Given the negative consequences of postpartum depression, prevention and treatment is imperative.

The impact of postpartum depression causes a mother to frequently feel exhausted, emotionally empty, and guilty because she cannot show love to her baby. The mother feels overwhelmed by feelings of harming her baby and may lack the emotional energy to relate to her newborn, which prevents her from perceiving the baby’s attempts to communicate. Depressed mothers are less likely to play with, read to, or even breastfeed their baby and tend to be inconsistent in their care causing a disruption in the bonding process. Many mothers are embarrassed to get help out of shame. Postpartum depression also has an extremely high impact on the newborn. Katja Gaschler (2008) states, “three-month-old infants of depressed mothers look at their mothers less often and show fewer signs of positive emotion than do babies of mentally healthy mothers” (p. 65). Postpartum depression during the first few months of life may also cause negative effects on a child’s development including: social problems (difficulty establishing relationships, social withdrawal, and acting out destructively); behavioral problems (temper tantrums, sleep problems, hyperactivity, and aggression); cognitive problems (walking and talking late and learning difficulties); and emotional problems (low self-esteem and anxiety). The family as a whole is also greatly impacted by

There was a case-controlled study that was performed using data from the pregnancy registry in Quebec. It showed the some doctors prescribed the woman the antidepressants to help with their depression and moods. There was one woman whom had a psychiatric disorder before the study took place. The antidepressant exposure was shown according to the months of the trimesters of use and what type of antidepressant they took. The infants born small for gestational age cases showed that the infants with a birth weight less to the tenth percentile following the Canadian charts. There were also, the relative risk took into factor. They were changed and shifted due to possible confounders.

During the last two decades, researchers have intensified their efforts to expand the findings about paternal perinatal depression. The study conducted by Goodman in 2004, has shown that the postpartum depression’s prevalence among fathers varied from 1.2% to 25% in the population sample. Furthermore, these percentages rose to achieve 24 to 50 per cent when the paternal postpartum depression was associated with maternal postpartum depression. The literature review and studies asserted the detrimental consequences of paternal perinatal depression on child wellbeing and development (Children, C. on D., Parenting Practices, and the Heaslthy Development of, Medicine, I. of, Education, D. of B. and S. S. and, & Council, N. R., 2009) such as hyperactivity, emotional deregulations, behavioral problems (Davis, Davis, Freed, & Clark, 2011, van den Berg et al., 2009). These studies outlined the importance of prevention and intervention to foster the paternal perinatal depression issue, through developing screening, diagnosis and management guidelines.

Postpartum psychiatric disorders, particularly depression, has become the most underdiagnosed complication in the United States. It can lead to increased costs of medical care, inappropriate medical care, child abuse and neglect, discontinuation of breastfeeding, and family dysfunction and adversely affects early brain development (Earls, 2010). Over 400,000 infants are born to mothers that are depressed. One of 7 new mothers (14.5%) experience depressive episodes that impair maternal role function. An episode of major or minor depression that occurs during pregnancy or the first 12 months after birth is called perinatal or postpartum depression (Wisner, Chambers & Sit, 2006). Mothers with postpartum depression experience feelings of extreme sadness, anxiety, and exhaustion that may make it difficult for them to complete daily care activities for themselves or for others (Postpartum Depression). The six stages of postpartum are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance and PTSD. These stages may affect any women regardless of age, race, ethnicity, or economic status. However only a physician can diagnose a woman with postpartum depression. It does not occur because of something a mother does or does not do, it’s a combination of physical and emotional factors. After childbirth, the levels of hormones in a woman’s body quickly drop; which may lead to chemical changes in her brain (Postpartum Depression). Unbalanced hormones may trigger mood swings.

Postpartum depression, which is the most prevalent of all maternal depressive disorders, is said to be the hidden epidemic of the 21st century. (1) Despite its high prevalence rate of 10-15% and increased incidence, postpartum depression often goes undetected, and thus untreated. (2) Nearly 50% of postpartum depression cases are untreated. As a result, these cases are put at a high risk of being exposed to the severe and progressive nature of their depressive disorder. (3) In other words, the health conditions of untreated postpartum depression cases worsen and progress to one of their utmost stages, and they are: postpartum obsessive compulsive disorder, postpartum panic disorder, postpartum post traumatic stress, and postpartum psychosis.

In this paper I will address a major concern that woman may have to deal with during their pregnancy known as postpartum depression or otherwise known as the “ baby blues”. Although having to deal with a mix of emotions and mood swings during pregnancy, postpartum depression can lead to a more severe form of baby blues known in the clinical world as postpartum non-psychotic depression that requires professional intervention. This type of depression is so severe that it can lead to suicide, and harm to both her and the newborn. The goal of this paper is to introduce therapeutic methods of communication that allows the new mom to be exposed to an environment that allows her to address negative feelings, and stressors so that postpartum non-psychotic depression does not have a chance to develop.

The Center for Disease Control estimates that 1 in 20 people suffer from depression (2014). Although widely recognized and somewhat easy to diagnose, depression is an ignored and almost hidden, disease. In women, the statistics are especially grim for those who are pregnant or were recently pregnant. A great number of women suffer from postpartum depression; an illness which is often overlooked, misdiagnosed and untreated. Postpartum depression (PPD) has been defined as an emotional disorder that occurs in an estimated 10-15% of all women after childbirth (Liberto, 2010). Postpartum depression not only impacts the mother, but can cause long-term psychological challenges for the baby and create emotional turmoil for all family members.

Postpartum Depression is important because too often it affects the mother, her spouse, and the newborn child. This affects the relationship between the mother and child based on Erikson’s Psychosocial developmental Theory and the idea of trust vs. mistrust. If the child’s basic needs are not met that could lead to mistrust, anxiety, and insecurities. This could also lead to Reactive Attention Disorder, where the neglect a child experiences leads to difficulty making relationships. It’s also found to be more likely in mothers of colicky babies because if the child cries a lot the mothers are less likely to make an emotional connection.

During pregnancy, there are some factors beyond the mother’s control which can have negative significances for the fetus. Maternal stress occurs when the mother is exposed to psychosocial stressors during pregnancy (Kramer et al, 2009). The mother could also develop depression during or after her pregnancy. This mental illness affects the mother’s ability to function and cope with everyday life (NIHCM, 2010), thus affecting her relationship with her baby. Recent research evidence has highlighted that there is some overlap between the symptoms of maternal depression and stress (Cheng & Pickler, 2014), and that these play a role in affecting the normal development of the fetus. However, other research has indicated that stress and depression do not harm the fetus, and in fact can be developmentally beneficial (DiPetro, 2004). In this essay, a number of symptoms of maternal stress and depression shall be addressed, and the extent to which they affect the developing fetus. First to be discussed is how the emotional stability of the mother may affect the relationship she has with her baby.

The third environmental factor that is said to cause ASD is the use of antidepressants during pregnancy. This study included 298 children with ASD and 1507 children without ASD as the control group from Northern California using the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program (KPNC). This focused on the years of 1995 to 1999 and babies that were born at KPNC. Mothers during the 3 months before the last menstrual period (LMP) were given one of 3 different antidepressant medications. The first medication contained SSRI’s, next medication contained serotonin-noradrenergic-reuptake inhibitors and other dual-action antidepressants, the last type of antidepressant which contains hydrochloride is tricyclic. Starting from preconception all the way to the delivery of the child the mothers were given antidepressant medication for 4 times over a one year time frame.

Postpartum depression is the most common psychological complexity that occurs after childbirth (Bakhshizadeh, 2013). This form of depression has been reported to be as high as 20% (Asltoghiria, 2012). The mother will begin to experience postpartum depression between the birth of the infant and 6 to 8 weeks later (Bhati, 2015). Depending on the person, the typical length of postpartum depression ranges anywhere from two weeks to two years in length (Posmontier, 2010). It is thought that postpartum depression affects mothers of multiples at a greater incidence than mothers whom birth just one child, and the chance increases with the number of children in a multiple birth. Evidence shows that the older the mother’s age at the time of birth, shows there is no notable increase in the risk of being diagnosed with postpartum depression. Another factor that is thought to have an influence on the diagnosis of postpartum depression is income within the household. A study shows that as income goes down, the risk of having

Even though many consider medications as a treatment to depression, it has high risk factors. It’s true that antidepressants like SSRI’s supposedly help the quality of improved life. However, are the consequences worth it? First of all, women using antidepressants have 20 % increase in both PTB and LBW compared to those who never used them during pregnancy (Cantarutti, Merlino, Monzani, Giaquinto, Corrao 1). Antidepressant medication is frequently prescribed to pregnant and lactating mothers. Women taking medications as treatment during pregnancy has a higher risk of getting birth defects to their children. Medications has proved to cause like metabolic syndrome and bipolar disorder. Generally, if SSRIs are taken during pregnancy,

Depression is more common in women than in men across all age groups and cultural backgrounds with a female to male ratio of 1.68 (Kessler et al. 1993). Women are at their greatest risk of suffering from depression during the childbearing years. Currently, up to 20% of the pregnant women population are prescribed an antidepressant during pregnancy (Pawluski JL), and others may become pregnant while on one. According to Mourilhe and Stokes (1998), only one in 20 depressed patients are diagnosed and adequately treated. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medications are the most common antidepressant treatment used during pregnancy and the postpartum period (Pawluski JL). It is important to treat depression in an expecting mother as studies show a negative effect of depression on pregnancy outcomes (Steer et al. 1992), maternal infant bonding (Condon and Corkindale 1997), cognitive development in children (Cogill et al. 1986), and subsequent recurrences of depression, resulting in problems for the child (Philipps and O’Hara, 1991). Because of the potential for maternal depression in pregnancy to cause negative impacts on both the mother and offspring, treatment (for the depression?) is highly recommended (Morrison, Riggs, & Rurak 2005). As such, fluoxetine is a frequently prescribed SSRI to pregnant women [need?] as it increases serotonin neurotransmission and has fewer side effects compared to other antidepressants (Morrison JL1, Riggs KW, Rurak DW).

A mother who struggles with depression post-partum is likely to expose her baby to more harmful effects. Gerhardt (2015) states that the baby of a depressed mother can find it difficult to cope with or get over stress, or they may be more fearful (p. 21). These babies also may respond to others with depression themselves, as their mother may be neglectful in their care (Gerhardt, 2015, p. 36). One of the reasons for this is because of their cortisol levels, which can fluctuate situationally. However, in infants this can affect their development (Gerhardt, 2015, p. 83) as well as their immune system (Gerhardt, 2015, p. 118), and is evidence that a mother with depression can have a significant impact on her child well beyond when the depression occurs. Additionally, Gerhardt (2015) notes that, “When they grow up, these babies of depressed mothers are highly at risk of succumbing to depression themselves.” (p.