Ahmad Chehade, PharmD. Candidate
Something to consider
Whether you’re just taking vitamins for general health, or prescription medications for chronic conditions, it’s important to know what medications you’re taking and the risks associated with them. This matters even more when it’s not just yourself that you have to consider, but when there’s another life growing inside you. The fact, is not all medications are harmful to a developing fetus – many can regularly be taken throughout the term of a pregnancy, but it’s still important for pregnant women to be aware of the impact that different medications can have on their pregnancy.
Consulting Your Healthcare Practitioner
Now, it’s not unheard of for pregnancies to happen unexpectedly. However, if you are planning on having a child in the near future, this is a great time to consult your healthcare practitioners. Whether that’s your pharmacist or physician, communication is essential to reassess your medications and medical conditions in preparation for a pregnancy.
One of the reasons we emphasize consulting with your clinicians is that many individuals are prone to simply stopping their medications outright. This can be unsafe, and in many cases, cause greater harm to a developing child than continuing medications.
Medication Withdrawal
To demonstrate the importance of this matter, we want to use a common chronic condition that affects countless individuals worldwide, depression, as an example.1 That being said, we want to make note that these concepts can relate to many other conditions including diabetes, and high blood pressure as well.
When treating depression, our goal is always to reach a normalized mood – meaning a point at which your appetite, daily activities, and energy levels are back to how they used to be. In depression, this is usually achieved through counselling, lifestyle changes including exercise, and in the vast majority of individuals, through medication. Discontinuing antidepressants during pregnancy can be doubly harmful, as it can directly affect the baby, as well as the mother.3,4
Abruptly stopping long-term medications can lead to something called withdrawal syndrome, which occurs when medications that our bodies have become used to suddenly go absent. Symptoms of withdrawal syndrome can include headaches, difficulty sleeping, and loss of appetite.2,3 In many cases, withdrawal symptoms can be quite profound, and feel very similar to being severely ill.
Second, ending antidepressants inappropriately can have negative effects on the mood and emotional wellbeing of the mother. Many pregnant mothers may choose to put their health second if it means protecting their child from exposure to medications. However, there is more to this than simply “toughing it out,” as poorly controlled medical conditions can have harmful effects on an unborn child. Mental health concerns are no exception either, as untreated depression has been shown to have significant effects on a developing fetus.4
The chance of developing negative outcomes such as these often far outweigh the risks of taking medications – especially when many of these medications are proven to be safe during pregnancy. Therefore, as always, we strongly recommend consulting a healthcare professional before making any changes for the sake of family planning.
We hope you took away something valuable from this piece. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this article or others, feel free to reach out to us on Instagram, Facebook, or at ask@orbishealth.ca with your feedback. We’d love to hear from you.
RESOURCES
- Dynamed
- Lexicomp
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/expert-answers/antidepressant-withdrawal/faq-20058133
- Payne JL, Meltzer-Brody S. Antidepressant Use During Pregnancy: Current Controversies and Treatment Strategies. Clinical obstetrics and gynecology. 2009;52(3):469-482. doi:10.1097/GRF.0b013e3181b52e20.
