CDC Study: Some Antidepressants Linked To Birth Defects
BOSTON (CBS) -- There's more evidence that women who take certain popular antidepressants may be at higher risk for having a baby with birth defects.
The new study led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed data on about 28,000 births. They found a slight increase in heart, brain, and other abnormalities in babies born to women who took paroxetine and fluoxetine, commonly known as Paxil and Prozac, in the months before getting pregnant and in the first trimester.
Prozac and Paxil belong to a class of antidepressants called SSRIs but other drugs in that class like Zoloft, Celexa and Lexapro were not associated with a higher risk.
Experts caution that the study doesn't prove that the drugs actually cause birth defects but that there is an association.
If you're pregnant and taking antidepressants, do not stop taking them, but talk to you doctor about how to proceed.