Antidepressants while trying to conceive

Depression is a serious mental health condition that can affect many areas of your life, including trying for a baby. For women with depression who want to conceive, careful planning and monitoring are essential.

Causes of depression

The causes of depression include certain predispositions, an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain as well as psychological and personal factors. Depression can occur at any age and can affect anyone, no matter their life circumstances. In particular, depression could also arise among those who have been trying to conceive for a long time.

Use of antidepressants while trying to conceive

Depression is mainly treated using talking therapy and medication. Patients can generally start or continue to take medication to treat depression while trying to conceive. Depression can be treated using a range of different medications or active ingredients. You may have questions about how safe these medications are while trying to conceive:

• Monoamine oxidase inhibitors, e.g. moclobemide (Aurorix)
• Noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressants (NaSSA), e.g. mirtazapine (Remergil SolTab)
• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), e.g. citalopram (Cipramil, Citalon), escitalopram (Cipralex, escitalopram), paroxetine (Seroxat), sertraline (Zoloft)
• Selective serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SSNRI), e.g. duloxetine (Cymbalta, Yentreve, Duloxalta), venlafaxine (Trevilor), milnacipran (Milnaneurax)
• Tricyclic antidepressants (TCA), e.g. amitriptyline (Saroten, Syneudon), clomipramine (Anafranil), doxepin (Aponal, Mareen)
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• Herbal medicines, e.g. St John’s wort (Jarsin, Nervoregin, Neuroplant)

Accompanying symptoms such as trouble sleeping, anxiety and feelings of nervousness, panic and fear can be treated using other medication including tranquilizers, anxiolytics and sleep medication.

• Benzodiazepine derivatives, e.g. alprazolam (Tafil), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), lorazepam (Tavor), oxazepam (Adumbran, Praxiten), prazepam (Demetrin), flurazepam (Dalmadorm, Staurodorm), lormetazepam (Loredam), midazolam (Dormicum), temazepam (Remestan), triazolam (Halcion), brotizolam (Lendormin), nitrazepam (Mogadon), flunitrazepam (Rohypnol)
• Other anxiolytics, e.g. buspirone (Anxut)
• Antihistamines, e.g. diphenhydramine (Betadorm-D, Moradorm, Sediat), doxylamine (Sedaplus, Valocordin), hydroxyzine (Atarax)
• Other sleep medication, e.g. tryptophan (Ardeydorm, Ardeytropin), chloral hydrate (Chloraldurat), melatonin (Circadin, Slenyto)
• Herbal medicines to aid sleep, e.g. valerian root (Baldrivit, Luvased, Sedonium), passion flower herb (Kytta-Sedativum, Pascoflair, Passidon), valerian root and hops (Alluna, Ardeysedon Nacht, Euvegal, Luvased Nacht), valerian root and melissa leaves (Sandrin)

Risks of antidepressants while trying to conceive

It is important that women with depression who want to try for a baby seek advice about their treatment options. While some antidepressants are still safe to take while trying to conceive, others may be associated with an increased risk of complications. Women who want to fall pregnant should talk to their doctor about coming off or changing their medication to ensure that they can minimise the risk of complications.

Find out whether your antidepressants are safe while you are trying to conceive

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