Elevated risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, neonatal health complications and possible longer term neurobehavioral abnormalities, including autism, suggest that a class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) should only be prescribed with great caution and with full counseling for women experiencing depression and attempting to get pregnant, say researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Tufts Medical Center and MetroWest Medical Center.

"Depression and infertility are two complicated conditions that more often than not go hand in hand. And there are no definitive guidelines for treatment," says lead author Alice Domar, Ph.D, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Executive Director of the Domar Center for Mind/Body Health at Boston IVF. "We hope to provide a useful analysis of available data to better inform decisions made by women and the providers who care for them."

Domar and colleagues conducted a review of published studies evaluating women with depressive symptoms who took antidepressants while pregnant. The results appear online October 31 in the journal Human Reproduction.

"There are three main points that stand out from our review of the scientific studies on this topic," says senior author Adam Urato, MD, Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at MetroWest Medical Center and a Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist at Tufts Medical Center. "First, there is clear and concerning evidence of risk with the use of the SSRI antidepressants by pregnant women, evidence that these drugs lead to worsened pregnancy outcomes. Second, there is no evidence of benefit, no evidence that these drugs lead to better outcomes for moms and babies. And third, we feel strongly that patients, obstetrical providers, and the public need to be fully aware of this information."

Over the last 20 years antidepressant usage has increased 400 percent. Antidepressants are now the most commonly prescribed medication in the United States for people between 18 and 44 years of age, the childbearing years for most women. And as women enter their late 30s and early 40s they are more likely to experience infertility.

"According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 1 percent of the babies born in the USA each year are the result of an IVF cycle," write the authors. "And most women will report symptoms of depression during infertility treatment, especially following unsuccessful treatment cycles."

As many as 11 percent of women undergoing fertility treatment report taking an SSRI to combat depressive symptoms, but Domar and colleagues found no evidence of improved pregnancy outcomes with antidepressant usage, and in fact, found the opposite. They also found plenty of controversy around SSRI efficacy. Many studies found SSRIs to be no more effective or only slightly more effective than placebos in treating depression. "More broadly, there is little evidence of benefit from the antidepressants prescribed for the majority of women of childbearing age - and there is ample evidence of risk," the authors write.