We are writing in response to a paper recently published in your journal: “Campagne
DM. Fact: Antidepressants and anxiolytics are not safe during pregnancy. Eur J Obstet
Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2007 Dec;135(2):145–8” [
[1]
]. We have many concerns with this piece, starting with the title, which is incorrect
as this is definitely not a review, it is an editorial reflecting the author's personal
views. A review is a systematic search of the literature, enabling the author to produce
the best evidence-based information, to assist clinicians in treating their patients.
His concern over the statement that I made, as well as other authors,“the body of
evidence in the literature to date, suggests that psychotropic drugs as a group are
relatively safe to take during pregnancy” (which is incorrectly cited) [
[2]
] is unwarranted and may cause harm to women who require these medications in pregnancy,
as they may be afraid to take medications for even a severe depression, which the
author does acknowledge is sometimes necessary.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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References
- Fact: antidepressants and anxiolytics are not safe during pregnancy.Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2007; 135: 145-148
- The safety of psychtopic drugs in pregnancy.MedGenMed. 2005; 5;7 (Review): 3
- Problems with maternal antidepressant treatment and neonatal outcomes study.Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007; 64 (author reply 867–8): 866
- SSRIs and birth defects.Epidemiology. 2007; 18 (author reply 412–3): 410-411
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor use in pregnancy and fetal outcomes.American Psychiatric Association Meeting, San Diego, California, USA2007
Einarson A, Pistelli A, Desantis M, Malm H, Paulus WD, Panchaud A, Kennedy D, Einarson TR, Koren G. Evaluation of the Risk of Congenital Cardiovascular Defects Associated With Use of Paroxetine During Pregnancy.Am J Psychiatry. 2008; Apr 1. [Epub ahead of print]
- Use of benzodiazepines and benzodiazepine receptor agonists during pregnancy: neonatal outcome and congenital malformations.Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2007; 16: 1203-1210
Dennis CL, Ross LE, Grigoriadis S. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007 Jul 18;(3):CD006309. Psychosocial and psychological interventions for treating antenatal depression.
- Disparities in rates of unintended pregnancy in the United States, 1994 and 2001.Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2006; 38: 90-96
Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 12, 2008
Received:
December 24,
2007
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ScienceDirect
Access this article on ScienceDirectLinked Article
- Author's response: Antidepressants and anxiolytics in pregnancy: The facts standEuropean Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive BiologyVol. 171Issue 2
- PreviewThe reaction of Nurse Einarson and colleagues helps us to get the problem of antidepressants and anxiolytics use during pregnancy under closer scientific and ethical scrutiny. She apparently is a staunch defender of the use of SSRIs and similar medications and, with funds from their manufacturers, has participated in studies of the effects of possibly teratogenic antidepressants on pregnant women. None of these studies considered non-pharmacologic ways to treat depression or anxiety. Indeed, these studies found that malformations occurred twice or three times as often in the SSRI or venlafaxine groups compared to the non-teratogenic group.
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