096: The FDA met to discuss SSRIs in pregnancy; chaos & confusion ensued. Here’s what to know.
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This week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hosted a meeting with 10 physicians, psychologists, and other panelists to discuss the use and safety of antidepressant medications called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)—a class of drugs that includes medications like Zoloft, Prozac, and Lexapro—during pregnancy. Three panelists were based outside of the U.S.; one runs a clinic focused on helping people taper off psychiatric medications.
The panel has since faced widespread criticism for being unbalanced and for promoting misinformation—including suggestions that SSRI use in pregnancy is linked to autism and birth defects, suggesting that many women feel “coerced” to go on SSRIs for depression, and questioning whether antidepressants work at all (as well as whether or not depression needs to be treated by medicine at all).
The professional organization, The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, said its members were “alarmed by the unsubstantiated and inaccurate claims made by FDA panelists concerning maternal depression and the use of SSRI antidepressants during pregnancy.”
The International Society of Reproductive Psychiatry expressed “grave concern” over the content and tone of the meeting and said the discussion was “marked by misinformation, anti-scientific rhetoric, and stigmatizing language.” The group said the meeting minimized or dismissed the fact that “most SSRIs carry a low risk of major birth defects and can be a critical part of a treatment plan for depression and anxiety during pregnancy.”
Steven J. Fleischman, M.D., president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), said in a statement that the panel was “alarmingly unbalanced.”
Perinatal mental health professionals—those who specialize in mental health during the reproductive years—also took to social media and various news outlets to share their concerns and clear up confusion.
Only one panelist, Kay Roussos-Ross, M.D., an associate professor in the departments of obstetrics and gynecology and psychiatry at the University of
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