Birth outcomes following prenatal exposure to antidepressants.

Background: Antidepressant use during pregnancy and the peripartum period is common despite the absence of clear evidence-based guidelines to direct clinical use of these compounds.

Method: We compared obstetrical and neonatal outcomes as recorded in medical records among 84 pregnant women with major depressive or anxiety disorders (DSM-IV criteria) who took antidepressants during pregnancy (cases) versus a 2:1 age- and parity-matched control group of 168 unexposed women. Women in the case group had sought psychiatric consultation regarding the use of medication from the Perinatal and Reproductive Psychiatry Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital between 1996 and 2000.