QUESTION:
Dear Dr. Heller,
Hello. I just found my girlfriend is pregnant! She is taking Paxil (20mg/day) to deal with depression. My question is: Is this safe for our child? She is in the first trimester of her pregnancy. She is scared to go off her medication. She's tried this before and has gotten very sick with depression and severe mood swings. Her doctor suggested cutting the dosage to 20mg one day, 10mg the next. We don't want this to affect the development of our child. Please, if you could help in any way, or recommend any other experts in this field, that would be great.
Thank you for your time.
ANSWER:
Paxil could be potentially dangerous during pregnancy, but so is being moody, angry,
depressed and especially if the individual starts drinking to deal with their emotional
symptoms. Prozac is considered relatively safe in pregnancy.
The bottom line with all pregnancies is risks versus the benefits. Do the potential risks
outweigh the potential benefits. Sometimes educated guesses are all we have to go on.
