The Adverse Effects of Antidepressant Medication Treatments on the Offspring of Women with Perinatal Depression

Abstract

Up to one fifth of pregnant and postpartum women are affected by depressive disorders, which imply a range of adverse consequences for both moms, their babies, and the entire family [1,2]. Untreated prenatal maternal depression is reported to induce epigenetic fetal changes that involve permanent alteration of the neuroendocrine functions of the fetus. As a result of such a stressed fetal neurodevelopment, these children are at a great risk of delayed cognitive and motor development as well as impaired tolerance to stressful conditions [3,4]. In the same way, postnatal depression represents a risk for non-optimal parenting behaviors, impaired mother-child interactions, child victimization, and development of childhood psychopathology [5,6].Antidepressant medications-and in particular, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)-are considered as the first line of treatment of perinatal depression [7,8]. It is estimated that 10% of pregnant women are prescribed antidepressant medications [8]. To achieve treatment goals, these drugs are consumed for long periods of time (at least 6-8 months) since treatment of depression