EON

Boston (EON) – A study has revealed that antidepressants taken by pregnant women do not put the unborn baby at risk of birth defects.

The overal risk of having a child with a defect increased by only 1 percent in women who took antidepressant drugs from companies such as Pfizer Inc, Zoloft, Glaxo, etc.

The new research has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

One in five pregnant women have symptoms of depression according to the American Pregnancy Association. Depression can lead to premature birth as well as very small and low-weight babies.

Researchers stated though that women can take antidepressants to help this without adding too much of a risk to the birth.

Michael Greene of the Mass General Hospital in boston stated that “If everyone decides that treatment for depression is appropriate and needed during pregnancy, the overall message from this is relatively reassuring.”