Depression is a common disorder in women of childbearing age. Nevertheless, antidepressant use during the gestational period remains a controversial topic. Stating, continuing, or discontinuing a treatment remains a difficult decision. Therefore, it seems important to assess the risks and the benefits of antidepressant use during pregnancy.

Our objectives were to 1) determine the prevalence of antidepressant use before, during, and after pregnancy; including switches, dosages, and classes of antidepressant used, 2) identify factors associated with antidepressant use at the beginning and at the end of pregnancy, 3) determine whether duration of antidepressant use during the first trimester of pregnancy increases the risk of major congenital malformation, and 4) quantify the association between antidepressant use and infants being born small for gestational age (SGA). These different aspects of antidepressants use during pregnancy were studied using data from the Quebec Pregnancy Registry.

Funding source
Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec (FRSQ), Réseau Québécois de Recherche sur l'Usage des Médicaments (RQRUM), Réseau FRSQ pour le bien-être des enfants.