Sara and all,

From what I can tell, the NIMH article raises far more questions than it
answers.  I would love to hear from Lactnetters with more expertise.

The rat study presumably uses normal rats with normal serotonin levels -- so
the serotonin levels of SSRI-treated rats might be abnormally high.  (How do
manic rats behave, eat, etc?!  I remember the difficulty of adjusting my
SSRI dose so that my mood wouldn't swing too high or low when I was a
"depleted" widowed mother of 3 seeing my new fiance one weekend a month!)
 What would be the effect on the pups of *depressed* mother rats given
SSRI's (if you could come up with such a population of rats)?  How would the
pups of *untreated* depressed mother rats turn out neurologically -- worse
or better than the pups of treated ones?

It would be difficult, if not impossible or unethical, to conduct such a
controlled study with humans.  As described in the article, the studies
about the correlation between SSRI's during human pregnancy, and the
frequency of autism or of lags in coordination of movement among the
children, could just as well indicate that having a mother with a history of
depression raises risk of neurological anomalies.  Would that surprise us?

At any rate, this article gives no data about dose for any of the studies,
and no data about lactating rats or humans, so it offers no new useful
information those concerned with lactation pharmacology.  Sadly, it offers
only a vague sense of alarm with no beneficial plan of action for
childbearing women who are dealing with depression.

Ruth Piatak, BA, MS
La Leche League Leader
WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor
Tulsa, Oklahoma
214-886-1218 (cell)
918-585-9114 (home)
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Date:    Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:04:45 -0500
From:    "Furr, Sara" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: NIMH press release say Perinatal antidepressant stunts brain
development in rats

I just read this and wonder how it might impact our work with pregnant women
and new mothers.

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2011/perinatal-antidepressant-stunts-brain-development-in-rats.shtml#.Tqcd-v8i1l4.twitter


Sara Dodder Furr, MA, IBCLC
Quality Improvement Specialist
Office of Research, Policy & Quality Improvement
Health Licensure & Investigations Unit, DHHS Division of Public Health
P.O. Box 95206
Lincoln NE 68509-5026
Phone:  (402) 471-4973 FAX:  (402) 471-0383
[log in to unmask]
Website: http://www.dhhs.ne.gov/crl/crlindex.htm

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