Treatment With Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors During Pregnancy: Deceleration of Weight Gain Because of Depression or Drug?

Abstract

In 1996, Chambers and colleagues (1) reported that exposure to fluoxetine in the third trimester of pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of preterm birth, smallfor-gestational-age infants, admission to special care nurseries, and poor neonatal adaptation, including respiratory difficulty, cyanosis on feeding, and jitteriness. This landmark article generated substantial concern among clinicians that third-trimester exposure to fluoxetine (and potentially other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SSRIs]) was contributing to adverse outcomes in pregnancy. Of interest, no