Zoloft & Pregnancy In Need Of Advice.....

[msgirl]

I would like to start a family but i am on Zoloft for severe panic attacks. My doctor has informed me that their maybe complications due to the medication with the baby. I was just wondering are there any mums out there who have had babies, that are healthy while taking Zoloft while pregnant??
I am on 50mg a day, i am very concerned that if i was to stop taking it my panic attacks would start up again. I am also very concerned that staying on the medication and having a baby that could be born with heart problems, breathing problems or transitions difficulties is just the wrong thing to do. I want to be a mum so badly, i suffer with Multiple Sclerosis so having my own child myself is my only option.

[Tuesday's Child]

I was on Zoloft (also 50mg per day) for depression throughout my pregnancy and have a perfectly healthy daughter. While there may be evidence of increased risk of birth defects, these defects are very rare to begin with (I can PM you links to scientific articles if you'd like). My main concern was withdrawal after she was born but BFing helps with that.

It was a huge relief to see that everything was normal at the morphology scan. DD hasn't been the easiest baby and I'll always wonder if the Zoloft has anything to do with that (but I think she's just very strong willed). I should also mention that I have developed PND since giving birth and have had my meds increased. I don't like to think about how bad it could've been without any meds at the beginning.

Its important to weigh up the risks of Zoloft vs the risks to bub if you had a panic attack/s. Whatever is best for you will be best for bub. Goodluck.

[kirsty_lee]

I was on 150mg of Zoloft when I was pregnant with dd and she's perfectly healthy. Zoloft is one of the safest to take during pregnancy and it's had a heck of a lot of research put into it. Its usually the first one that doctors will prescribe when you're pregnant cause they know its the safest. The only thing that they tell you is that the baby may suffer a tiny bit of withdrawls which might consist of a little bit of the shakes. but dd didn't even have that, probably because she was still getting it from the breast milk. Don't stress babe. 50 mg is nothing really. I had a healthy bubs on 150mg with no withdrawls whatsoever. You'll be fine. ANd like Hannah said its important to weigh up the risks. But like I said zoloft has been classed as one of the safest.

[Kel001]

Hi msgirl,
I'm on zoloft currently and we're TTC #2 - I've had chat's with my GP and while there are some small risks, overall the side effects are rare and I'm confident everything will be ok (my dose is low and I know that my health is a vital part of the TTC process). As Kirsty_lee said, zoloft is one of the safest to take during pregnancy, but if you have any concerns visit your GP or health professional and have a chat, I'm sure they can put your mind at ease if you're still worried

I agree with HannahD - whatever is best for you will absolutely be best for your baby. Goodluck with your TTC journey!

[Toomanytoomany]

I have been on Zoloft (100mg daily) for about four years. I took it the whole time I was pregnant with Tom. He is perfect.

There haven't been any specific large scale studies done on the effects of Zoloft that I have found, but that doesn't mean it's dangerous - and it is quite commonly prescribed for pregnant women. The equation is - do the risks outweigh the benefits? If you are pregnant, staying mentally healthy is incredibly important, and there are significant and well documented risks around high levels of stress. So for me, the benefits definitely outweighed the risks. 50mg is also a relatively low dose.

[cindyb]

I have a friend who took herself off Zoloft as she was wanting to get pregnant - she ended up having a melt down which ended up with her in a psych unit for 5 weeks while they worked out a drug for her to go on again. During that time all the specialists kept on tellign her that zoloft is one of the safest ones on the market and she should never have been told to come off it.
She was told by one of the spychiatic consultants that the problem is that there havent been any clinical trials done to test it out with pregnance due to the fact that nobody wants to go on a drug intentionally when pregnant to 'test' it out and see if their baby is born with issues but at the same time there have been no cases of babies born with issues that have been correlated with other ones to even suggest that it causes issues.
Of course it is a personal choice but I personally believe that your mental health is paramount!

[msgirl]

Thankyou to everyone who has replied. You have all put my mind at ease. I am going to make an appointment with a OBGYN at John Hunter Hospital, to have a chat with them. I have to be looked after by a specialist anyway due to the fact that i have Multiple Sclerosis anyway. So i want to make sure i get all the facts before getting pregnant. I am just glad this site is here as you are all so very helpful.