Harry, thank you for your thoughtful comments. THey certainly are thought provoking for me, as I do not have much experience with drugs and ppdepression in bf mothers. I am saving this one for future reference. Ah, the beauty of email files... <G> >Dear Lactnet associates, > Any discussion of antidepressant use in the bf'ing mother has to be >tempered by the statement of the American Academy of Ped's Committee on >Drugs published in Pediatrics Vol 93 pp.137-50 (1/94). In that article that >Committee lists ALL antidepressant drugs in the category of "Drugs whose >effect on nursing infants is unknown but may be of concern." It goes on to >explain that "no case reports of adverse effects in bf'ing infants, these >drugs do appear in human milk and this could *conceivably* alter short-term >and long-term central nervous system funtion" > Nontheless many physicians have successfully treated bf'ing mothers with >antidepressants without apparent adverse effects on the infant. Certainly >the older class of drugs, the tricyclic antidepressants such as >nortriptyline (Pamelor and others) have the longest track record of apparent >safety for bf'ing moms and their infants. (see also the input in this >regard from Cindy Smith.) However this class of drugs has many side effects >which limit usefulness. > Newer drugs such as the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI's) >such as Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft, Paxil and now others have been a great >advance in the field of psychopharmacology because of their tolerability >and perhaps more rapid onset of action. Before I forget, let me comment on >some writers' concerns with messing with serotonin. Realize that serotonin >is a neurotransmitter, BUT so is norepinephrine, dopamine, acetylcholine and >others. All antidepressants affect one or another neurotransmitter. That >is how they work! I am not aware of any greater need for concern when it >comes to drugs that affect serotonin versus other neurotransmitters in the >bf'ing mother. Thomas Hale mentioned this to me, the concern specifically with Serotonin uptake inhibitors. >KB ********************************************************** Kathleen B. Bruce RN, BSN, IBCLC Williston, Vermont USA [log in to unmask] To err is human, to really screw up you need a computer...*wink* **********************************************************************