Hormonal Differences Between Antidepressants And Pregnancy

Postpartum depression is one of the most common complications of childbearing with an estimated prevalence of 19.2% in the first three months after delivery (1). Depressive episodes (major and mild) may be experienced by approximately half of women during the first postpartum year (1). Characterized by depressed mood, loss of pleasure or interest in daily activities, feelings of worthlessness and guilt, irritability, sleep and eating disturbances (2), its etiology is multi-faceted and complex (3;4).

fact depression can also come from an environment. If a child's sibling is depressed, or a

Segre, A. R. (n.d.). Perinatal Depression: A Review of U.S. Legislation and Law. Retrieved from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3725295/

Stimulants are considered as a drug and are commonly used today. The question is will use of stimulants while pregnant affect the infant. A pregnant woman can be prescribed stimulants (Antidepressants) because of them being depressed and stressed out about everything that is occurring in their life while pregnant, but what many people do not see is it going to affect the infant long-term. Most mothers want what is best for their child and they want to make sure that their child is going to have a healthy life as much as possible. Is it safe to take the antidepressants while pregnant and will there be any risk factors? There is mainly a biological and environmental that reflect a child’s senses and development.

Often the time after birth is a filled with joy and happiness due to the arrival of a new baby. However, for some mothers the birth of a baby leads to some complicated feelings that are unexpected. Up to 85% of postpartum woman experience a mild depression called “baby blues” (Lowdermilk, Perry, Cashion, & Alden, 2012). Though baby blues is hard on these mothers, another form of depression, postpartum depression, can be even more debilitating to postpartum woman. Postpartum depression affects about 15% (Lowdermilk et al., 2012) of postpartum woman. This disorder is not only distressing to the mother but to the whole family unit. This is why it is important for the nurse to not only recognize the signs and symptoms of a mother with postpartum depression, but also hopefully provide preventative care for the benefit of everyone involved.

The presence of risk factors does not guarantee that a woman will experience PPD, but it may indicate that the health care provider should pay a little more attention to possible signs and symptoms of depression. Known risk factors include depression or other mental illness prior to, and during, pregnancy, a family history of depression or other mental health disorders, a history of substance abuse, the age of the mother, financial concerns, lack of a support system, and being a single parent (Camp, 2013). In the presence of risk factors it is important for the health care provider to educate the woman on ways to

According to the North Carolina Clinic, they have a research program to understand why women go through depression during pregnancy, and after childbirth. The research program

The Center for Disease Control estimates that 1 in 20 people suffer from depression (2014). Although widely recognized and somewhat easy to diagnose, depression is an ignored and almost hidden, disease. In women, the statistics are especially grim for those who are pregnant or were recently pregnant. A great number of women suffer from postpartum depression; an illness which is often overlooked, misdiagnosed and untreated. Postpartum depression (PPD) has been defined as an emotional disorder that occurs in an estimated 10-15% of all women after childbirth (Liberto, 2010). Postpartum depression not only impacts the mother, but can cause long-term psychological challenges for the baby and create emotional turmoil for all family members.

There are several different antidepressants. Different antidepressants can affect the body in different ways. There are a few antidepressants that have been deemed safe for breastfeeding women. Some of those antidepressants include Paxil and Zoloft. Studies have shown that those antidepressants are not detectable

(Stewart, D.E., Robertson, E., Dennis, G.L., Grace, S.L. & Wallington, T. 2003) If we can prevent perinatal to avoid adverse effects on both the mother and child, there is evidence that preventive intentions are efficacious for perinatal depression. The research

If left untreated, postpartum depression can interfere with parents-child attachment and cause family problems later on in life. For mothers, untreated postpartum depression can last for months or up to years, sometimes becoming a chronic depressive disorder. Even when treated, postpartum depression increases a woman 's risk of future episodes of major depression. For fathers, postpartum depression can have a ripple effect, causing emotional damage for everyone close to a new baby. According to the Mayo Clinic Staff, “When a new mother is depressed, the risk of depression in the baby 's father may also increase”. New dads are already at a highly risk of depression, whether or not the mother is affected. Children of parents who have untreated postpartum depression are most likely to have emotional and behavior problems, such as sleeping and eating disorders, excessive crying, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). And will also delay in language development.

The third environmental factor that is said to cause ASD is the use of antidepressants during pregnancy. This study included 298 children with ASD and 1507 children without ASD as the control group from Northern California using the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program (KPNC). This focused on the years of 1995 to 1999 and babies that were born at KPNC. Mothers during the 3 months before the last menstrual period (LMP) were given one of 3 different antidepressant medications. The first medication contained SSRI’s, next medication contained serotonin-noradrenergic-reuptake inhibitors and other dual-action antidepressants, the last type of antidepressant which contains hydrochloride is tricyclic. Starting from preconception all the way to the delivery of the child the mothers were given antidepressant medication for 4 times over a one year time frame.

The main argument being made is that some antidepressants can cause birth defects, the article provides us with a study to help prove this. The study looked at data on more than 38,000 women who had given birth in 1997-2009 and compared what the mother’s antidepressants are and the child’s number of birth defects (Neighmond, 2015). One concept or idea that ties into child development is epigenetics, where the environment influences or alters gene expression (Berk, 2018), which makes me wonder if in some cases the child being exposed to an environment of a depressed mother, it may cause some genes to alter. This also ties into the concept of passive gene environment, where parents who are genetically related to the child set up the environment

Pregnancy is one of the happiest moments in life of a woman. However, it is also time of enormous physical and emotional changes in women. Hence, perinatal period may increase vulnerability to various psychiatric conditions such as depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and psychosis.

A mother who struggles with depression post-partum is likely to expose her baby to more harmful effects. Gerhardt (2015) states that the baby of a depressed mother can find it difficult to cope with or get over stress, or they may be more fearful (p. 21). These babies also may respond to others with depression themselves, as their mother may be neglectful in their care (Gerhardt, 2015, p. 36). One of the reasons for this is because of their cortisol levels, which can fluctuate situationally. However, in infants this can affect their development (Gerhardt, 2015, p. 83) as well as their immune system (Gerhardt, 2015, p. 118), and is evidence that a mother with depression can have a significant impact on her child well beyond when the depression occurs. Additionally, Gerhardt (2015) notes that, “When they grow up, these babies of depressed mothers are highly at risk of succumbing to depression themselves.” (p.