Ivanhoe's Medical Breakthroughs - Study Shows Antidepressants Safe for Nursing Mothers
Reported March 8, 2005
Study Shows Antidepressants Safe for Nursing Mothers
By Amanda Jackson, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent
"ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Thirteen percent of women experience postpartum depression. Many breastfeeding women, however, elect to not take antidepressants because of fear of exposing the infant to the drug through her breast milk. Now, a new study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clincial Pharmacology and Therapeutics in Orlando, Fla., shows antidepressants are safe for nursing mothers to take. Researcher Amy Lee, MSc, of the University of Toronto/Hospital for Sick Children, explains that previous short-term studies suggest there is minimal exposure of the drugs to nursing infants and they are not considered a risk. However, women become confused because their doctors often warn them of antidepressant use because of the lack of long-term neurodevelopmental studies. In fact, the American Association of Pediatrics states, 'Exposure to maternal psychotropic medications through the breast milk may be of concern to the nursing infant.'..."
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