My sister-in-law is pregnant with her first child. She suffers from depression and bipolar disorder. She was on medication for both but since she found out she was expecting she stopped the medication cold turkey without asking her doctor. I'm concerned about her health and the baby's because she has her ups and downs. And recently she has been feeling very depressed. I know it's because of all of the hormone changes and on top of that she has these two disorders.
My question is: Has anyone out there had problems like this and been pregnant? Did your doctor give you anything to help the depression while you were pregnant? Are you allowed to take any of those medications? How did you cope?
I have 3 children and I know I was told my my OB not to take any meds except tylenol. I didn't like taking anything at all. BUt in extreme cases do doctors make an exception?? If so, will it harm the baby? I am pretty close to my sister-in-law so I try to support her and talk to her a lot and encourage her but there's only so much family can do. FYI: the father of the baby is not in the picture at all.
Thanks in advance.
First off, she should NEVER quit cold turkey. I am 21 weeks pregnant and got prescribed anti-depressants about a month ago. The doctor said not being on the pills is by far more dangerous to the baby then being stress/anxious/depressed. She really needs to call the doctor ASAP, its very bad for the baby to get off the pills and for her.
Also, it is very very common to get depression/anxiety during pregnancy and there are tons of women out there on SSRI's to help them! In order for the baby to be healthy, the mom needs to be healthy first!
She should not have stopped these medications, not even for a few days until she could speak to a doctor. Stopping medications cold turkey can have serious effects on a person, especially one with these conditions. I was on medication for depression when I fell pregnant and my doctor told me to keep taking it. She needs to speak with her doctor because they will know what is best for her medication wise.
Your sister-in-law must contact her doctor immediately. It may be unsafe for her to stop taking her medication and although initially she should've stopped until she could speak to her doctor she can't just stop altogether without seeking advice. Depending on the severity of her condition there may be something the dr can provide which is suitable whilst pregnant.
Please encourage her to call her dr right away =]
Good luck xx
My mother has grand-mal epilepsy, very severe, so the doctor made an exception for her in taking her epilepsy medication, even though there was a small chance of birth defects, so yes, sometimes they make exceptions.
From what I understand, depression may be an exception. My friend had severe clinical depression when pregnant and her doctor said that there was little chance that her SSRI's would cause birth defects. She stopped taking them (switched to light therapy), but her doctor supervised and said that cold turkey could be harmful to the fetus, and to go off them gradually.
She needs to call her OB or call her psychiatrist. With either of those two disorders, she could be a danger to herself and to the baby.
With baby #2, I took depression medicine through the whole pregnancy. This child has been chock full of medical/mental problems, but I don't think that had anything to do with my meds. It had more to do with bad genes.
TX Mom
Hi!
You are a wonderful sister-in-law!
I am Bipolar and am currently 33 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child. Both my pregnancies I stopped medication completely, cold turkey. First pregnancy I developed Hyperemisis and really had no choice. This pregnancy I had actually just came out of a pschyc hospital finally back on meds after a suicide attempt and had never been happier with the meds I was on. I went in for a liver biopsy and tested positive for pregnancy and stopped everything that day. I know that some people do take meds throughout pregnancy if that person will benifit from it. There's no real proof wether or not it does interfere with brain developement. To me its not worth the risk.
The father of this baby is not in the picture either and I had opted to adopt him out because I'm on disability (for Bipolar) and can't afford to do it on my own. They have actually labled my son Special Needs because of the medication I was on for the time I didn't know I was pregnant. The Dr. Said it could possibly result in a learning disability, or some kind of brain developement disorder and no one would really know till he is older. Also Bipolar Disorder is Hereditary, I was told from Mother to daughter there's a very high chance, mother to son, not as high.
For the most part, I'm fine, I obviously have different feelings then "normal" people. I stay away from public places, I resort to my room a lot to be alone, I cry almost everyday, I think about suicide after the baby is born... but I'm not sure if its due to being Bipolar or the situation I'm in. I do know, that this baby is the only thing keeping me half way sane and focused on the future.
I do wonder if my emotions themselves will have an effect on the baby too.
Baby #1 I was irritable and a little depressed, but once she came I had never been happier and knew that I was destined to be a mother. I went years without meds. I had a lot of support from the father and my family. This time everythings totally wrong.
My daughter is now 6 and highly intelligent, extremely mature, and very well behaved. As far as I believe the meds did not harm her but I was only on them for 6 weeks.
My advice is to support her descision, but make sure she chose to stop them for the babies health and not because she feels she doesn't need them. If she ever does feel she needs help let her know that she can get it, she might think they'll take the baby away and not want to get help.
It ultimately depends on her, I am frequently hospitalised and require a hand full of hardcore meds to substain a "normal" life. But in my heart, I'd do anything for my kids and want kids more then anything and it keeps me on track. It could be the best thing to ever happen to her.
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Pregnancy and depression?