Analysis examines safety of antidepressant use during pregnancy

Use of fluoxetine—the most commonly prescribed antidepressant—during pregnancy is linked with a slightly increased risk of malformations in infants, according to a recent analysis of published studies.

In the analysis of 16 studies, infants exposed to fluoxetine during the first trimester had an 18% increased relative risk of major malformations and a 36% increased relative risk of cardiovascular malformations. There were no significant observations of other system-specific malformations in the nervous system, eye, urogenital system, digestive system, respiratory system, or musculoskeletal system.

The findings are published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

Similar research was published at an earlier time in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.