Pregnancy and anxiety medication
June 11, 2018 5:51 PM Subscribe
I'm asking for my sister because I'm worried about her and think she could benefit from some type of anxiety medication, but she is also going to try for a baby soon so I don't know if she will be able to take anything.
She's always been a really anxious person but has always tried to muscle through it, thinking that medication is a sort of crutch and that she would be weak to take it. However, she and her husband have decided to try for a baby soon and I'm noticing that her anxiety has really ramped up and she just doesn't seem like herself these days. She's also shared with me that it's been affecting her functioning at her job and social relationships. She might be open to trying some meds but doesn't see the point of starting on something only to have to stop it when she gets pregnant. Are there any safe anxiety medications for pregnant women? Or perhaps something natural?
She's always been a really anxious person but has always tried to muscle through it, thinking that medication is a sort of crutch and that she would be weak to take it. However, she and her husband have decided to try for a baby soon and I'm noticing that her anxiety has really ramped up and she just doesn't seem like herself these days. She's also shared with me that it's been affecting her functioning at her job and social relationships. She might be open to trying some meds but doesn't see the point of starting on something only to have to stop it when she gets pregnant. Are there any safe anxiety medications for pregnant women? Or perhaps something natural?
Yes, her doctor can help her select medication compatible with conception and pregnancy and breastfeeding. Given that wildly heightened anxiety associated with the physical and emotional stresses of pregnancy, labor and delivery, and early parenthood can kill, it would be in her best interest to work on a plan with her doctor now before it becomes an emergency or gets irreversibly out of hand.
Stress management techniques and coping strategies developed with a therapist are certainly natural in the sense of being non-chemical. It may not be enough, but it should be one of probably multiple simultaneous treatment methods.
Kids suffer when the conditions of their lives are dictated by parents not managing manageable illness. This is super high-stakes stuff worth talking to a professional about rather than guessing on the internet.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:09 PM on June 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
Stress management techniques and coping strategies developed with a therapist are certainly natural in the sense of being non-chemical. It may not be enough, but it should be one of probably multiple simultaneous treatment methods.
Kids suffer when the conditions of their lives are dictated by parents not managing manageable illness. This is super high-stakes stuff worth talking to a professional about rather than guessing on the internet.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:09 PM on June 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
A growing body of literature suggests that the risk of adverse effects of untreated depression in pregnancy is high. Because selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have been shown to be safe during pregnancy, the risk-benefit ratio is quite clear.Motherisk: Risks of untreated depression during pregnancy
To date, antidepressants are the most studied drugs during pregnancy, with more than 30 000 outcomes examining increased risks of adverse effects on exposed infants. The results of the studies can appear to be conflicting owing to differing interpretation of statistical analysis and subsequent knowledge transfer and translation of the information. However, there does not appear to be a clinically significant increased risk of any of the adverse outcomes reported in peer-reviewed published studies that would preclude a woman from taking a needed antidepressant during pregnancy.Motherisk: Antidepressant use during pregnancy
posted by sadmadglad at 6:18 PM on June 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Our experience tracks with what sadmadglad said. My wife was on meds for anxiety and depression during her pregnancies with our children. The advice of our doctors was that having an uncontrollably anxious or depressed mom was a bigger risk factor for the kids than the negligible side effects of the meds. We still feel that was the right choice for us.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 6:34 PM on June 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Pater Aletheias at 6:34 PM on June 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
My wife took Zoloft for her anxiety and OCD during pregnancy.
The pregnancy went well. The baby did have some scary (but ultimately harmless) side effects from withdrawal after birth that led to a week NICU stay even though she was full term. Breastfeeding is just fine. The doctors knew what was up, and she did fine, just scared everybody for a few days with respiratory issues.
Over and over it was repeated it is way more dangerious to have untreated mental illness than it is for the baby to be exposed to the medication. I think this is true.
posted by AlexiaSky at 9:39 AM on June 12, 2018
The pregnancy went well. The baby did have some scary (but ultimately harmless) side effects from withdrawal after birth that led to a week NICU stay even though she was full term. Breastfeeding is just fine. The doctors knew what was up, and she did fine, just scared everybody for a few days with respiratory issues.
Over and over it was repeated it is way more dangerious to have untreated mental illness than it is for the baby to be exposed to the medication. I think this is true.
posted by AlexiaSky at 9:39 AM on June 12, 2018
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A good psychiatrist will know which medications are safe for pregnancy and breastfeeding. She can also do a pre-conception visit with an OB/GYN - they will discuss any existing prescriptions and recommend alternatives if needed.
posted by Metroid Baby at 6:08 PM on June 11, 2018 [3 favorites]