# Antidepressants in pregnancy and breastfeeding



## carrie lou (May 16, 2006)

Hello, I'm hoping you can advise me please. I am 24 weeks pregnant and have been on fluoxetine 20mg a day since early in pregnancy, for my depression. I am now receiving conflicting advice over whether to stop them before the baby is due, or continue, and about the risks of withdrawal in the newborn baby. I am planning to breastfeed and I understand fluoxetine is present in milk and it's not recommended to breastfeed while taking it. 


I've done some research and it seems sertraline is considered a safer option in breastfeeding. Is it possible for me to switch to sertraline instead and if so, how difficult would this be - could I expect side effects for example.


I plan to see my own GP who is the one who initially started me on the tablets (she did know I was pregnant at the time) - I haven't seen her since she prescribed them for me around new year and I'm not able to get an appointment with her for the next two weeks. But in the meantime I'd really appreciate your opinion. I feel in a bit of a quandary; on the one hand, I know I need my mental health to be stable for the sake of my baby, but on the other hand I desperately want to breastfeed and if I can't at least try, I will feel like a failure which may be even worse for my mental health than stopping the tablets. 


Thank you for reading.


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