Antidepressants May Delay Lactation
Antidepressants May Delay Lactation
Study Shows SSRIs May Have an Impact on Breastfeeding
Nommsen-Rivers says that while all new moms should have access to breastfeeding support, such support may be especially important for new moms who take antidepressants.
The study appears in the February issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
"These women need to know that delay doesn't mean it isn't going to happen," she says.
Texas Tech University Medical School health psychologist and lactation consultant Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, PhD, points to numerous studies that have explored the impact of SSRIs on babies born to women who use them.
"To my knowledge this lactation delay has not been documented before," she tells WebMD. "I would guess that if this is happening, it is rare."
She points out that pregnant women are at the highest risk for depression in their last trimester and in the early weeks after giving birth.
While she feels too many women may be taking antidepressants when other treatments might work for them, Kendall-Tackett also warns that moms-to-be and new moms should never stop taking SSRIs or any other prescribed antidepressant without their doctor's approval.
"Generally speaking, if a woman is on an antidepressant during the last trimester of pregnancy she probably needs to stay on it, and she should never go off it on her own," she says.
Antidepressants May Delay Lactation
Study Shows SSRIs May Have an Impact on Breastfeeding
Support for New Moms
Nommsen-Rivers says that while all new moms should have access to breastfeeding support, such support may be especially important for new moms who take antidepressants.
The study appears in the February issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
"These women need to know that delay doesn't mean it isn't going to happen," she says.
Texas Tech University Medical School health psychologist and lactation consultant Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, PhD, points to numerous studies that have explored the impact of SSRIs on babies born to women who use them.
"To my knowledge this lactation delay has not been documented before," she tells WebMD. "I would guess that if this is happening, it is rare."
She points out that pregnant women are at the highest risk for depression in their last trimester and in the early weeks after giving birth.
While she feels too many women may be taking antidepressants when other treatments might work for them, Kendall-Tackett also warns that moms-to-be and new moms should never stop taking SSRIs or any other prescribed antidepressant without their doctor's approval.
"Generally speaking, if a woman is on an antidepressant during the last trimester of pregnancy she probably needs to stay on it, and she should never go off it on her own," she says.
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