Medicine

https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/sertraline/pregnancy-breastfeeding-and-fertility-while-taking-sertraline/#:~:text=Sertraline%20and%20pregnancy,sertraline%20have%20a%20normal%20heart. For many women medications (of many types) are essential in pregnancy, if you are very concerned perhaps you can ask for referral to a perinatal mental health clinic or specialist charity to discuss this in more detail (I don’t know where you are). I strongly disagree with the previous post; I don’t want to use any triggering terms so I will leave a post below, but maternal mental health is a very serious issue that endangers women’s lives and appropriate medication is a part of helping those people. https://maternalmentalhealthalliance.org/news/mbrrace-2023-suicide-still-leading-cause-maternal-death/

@Ericka no but if you are already taking medication that keeps your mental health in check then there is often no need to stop. Certainly no need to tell this pregnant woman that she shouldn't be having children because she has a diagnosed condition. I have diagnosed anxiety disorder. It is a disorder. I have had therapy. 3 times. I have and use Meditation. I have been on anti depressants (citalopram) for nearly 5 years. I am now 37 weeks pregnant. There is no harm to me or my baby. You may have your personal views on them but they are not MEDICAL views. The medical evidence weighs up the negative effects of withdrawing medication compared to any risks posed by the medication itself. If everyone on the planet with an anxiety disorder decided they couldn't have children because people like you don't like chemicals we'd never have any kids in the world. The side effects on antidepressants are always monitored by a doctor for any worsening of symptoms and from there dosage managed.

To the OP. I believe sertraline is among the safest you can continue using. If it's not, your doctor will advise otherwise but contact them about it and have a chat. I reduced my dosage as a personal choice but there wasn't any need. I'm on citalopram and was expressly told NOT to come off it completely. Also, the advice on them is changing as the medical evidence changes. Citalopram they previously thought it may be associated with a small risk with heart defects so would have taken me off. Further medical research has proven that false so I was advised to carry on.

Hi, I did! I was really worried and I was referred to the perinatal mental health team and they sent me some literature on how safe it was. I took it my whole pregnancy and baby was born absolutely fine ❤️ feel free to connect with me if you want to

Some of these comments are ridiculous. I took it and was perfectly fine but it takes a few weeks to start taking effect

I did!! And my bambino (now 8 months is just fine) I was on a small dosage! But I had zero issues! I believe they just check that baby isn’t reliant on it! (Not sure how they do this - but we had no issues) my doctors and midwife’s were not concerned about it! But speak to yours about any concerns you have! I personally am glad I continued with mine as after pregnancy my hormones were all over the place so glad I didn’t have to worry about my anxiety being horrendous at the same time!! I’d say on posts like this - unless you have experience yourself or you’re a medical professional - comments are not necessary!!

I’m not responding directly to some of the messages above as they aren’t answering the original poster’s question and have a very heavy bias. I’m just going to say that obviously women with a history of mental health issues often need support in pregnancy, and many women have mental health issues for the first time during pregnancy and these medications can save their lives. To the original poster, who is the person that matters here - sertraline is very widely used and seldom causes issues and I encourage you to speak to your midwife, mental health charity or obstetrician-led mental health clinic for informed advice.

Yes I did - baby is absolutely fine. They kept her in for monitoring for 24 hours after birth but she's healthy as ever. Your mental health is really important in pregnancy and beyond so if you do need it I would advocate taking it. 😊

Therapist and mom here, I took it and had no problems

Yes I’ve taken it in all 4 pregnancies and baby’s are fine