Findings From Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor–Exposed Neonates Should Be Interpreted With Caution

Abstract

In Reply .— I am pleased that the letter by Norton et al gives us the opportunity to clarify the significance and limitations of the findings of our study on the association between maternal use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy and neonatal neurobehavior. As we described in our article, maternal depression during pregnancy is an important public health concern, with implications not only for the health of the mother but also for the health and development of the infant. Treatment of this condition has focused on mothers using SSRIs, with the assumption that these medications are safe for the developing fetus. Our concern is that this assumption is based on research that indicates that prenatal SSRI exposure has little or no impact on development, because exposed infants are born mostly of full birth weight, at full term, and show few physical anomalies. However, over the past 30 years, significant research literature has demonstrated that, in addition to these measures, neurobehavioral assessments provide a measure of …