The results of a study that looked at the use of antidepressant medicines during pregnancy in mothers of babies born with a serious condition called persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) were recently published in a medical journal.

Babies born with PPHN have abnormal blood flow through the heart and lungs and do not get enough oxygen to their bodies. Babies with PPHN can be very sick and may die.

The study results showed that:

• babies born to mothers who took selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), the family of medicines Paxil belongs to,
• 20 weeks or later in their pregnancies,
• had a higher chance (were 6 times as likely) to have persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN),
• than babies born to mothers who did not take antidepressants during pregnancy.