Results provide the first systematic evidence that women who use SSRIs during pregnancy have healthy, full-birth-weight newborn infants who show disruptions in a wide range of neurobehavioral outcomes. Effects on motor activity, startles, and HRV may be mediated through the effects of SSRI exposure on gestational age. Future research can lead to a better understanding of the effects of SSRI use during pregnancy and an improved public health outcome.

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infants (29.2 vs 31.2 weeks) and were assessed at an earlier age (6 vs 9 months).The fact that the BRS assessments in our study were not blinded represents an obvious shortcoming, and thus the data should be interpreted with caution. Despite these reservations, early intervention after discharge may have a positive effect on behavioral development, and we therefore started in 2004 a randomized, controlled trial (180 infants) with long-term follow-up. In our opinion, a combination of NIDCAP and IBAIP might be promising and needs additional evaluation.