Antidepressant medication use during breastfeeding

Clin Obstet Gynecol. 2009 Sep;52(3):483-97. doi: 10.1097/GRF.0b013e3181b52bd6.

Abstract

We performed an electronic search by using MEDLINE, PreMEDLINE, Current Contents, Biological Abstracts, and PsycINFO from June 2002 to December 2008 using the following terms: "antidepressant drugs", "antidepressive agents", "human milk", "lactation", and "breastfeeding" and the generic name of each antidepressant. Articles in the English language with reports of antidepressants in maternal serum or breast milk, infant serum, and short-term and long-term clinical outcomes in the infants were obtained. The search yielded a total of 31 empirical papers. Breastfeeding and antidepressant treatments are not mutually exclusive. Sertraline, paroxetine, nortriptyline, and imipramine are the most evidence-based medications for use during breastfeeding.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / pharmacology
  • Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / therapeutic use
  • Breast Feeding*
  • Citalopram / pharmacology
  • Citalopram / therapeutic use
  • Depression, Postpartum / drug therapy*
  • Female
  • Fluoxetine / pharmacology
  • Fluoxetine / therapeutic use
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Lactation / drug effects
  • Paroxetine / pharmacology
  • Paroxetine / therapeutic use
  • Pregnancy
  • Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Sertraline / pharmacology
  • Sertraline / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation
  • Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors
  • Fluoxetine
  • Citalopram
  • Paroxetine
  • Sertraline