Taking Prozac During Pregnancy Won’t Harm Babies, Study Says
From Times staff and wire reports
A new study found no sign that taking Prozac during pregnancy can harm a woman’s unborn child. Prozac is the most widely prescribed medicine for depression. It is taken by more than 12 million people worldwide. Prozac is not thought to cause major birth defects, but one previous study had suggested it might cause subtle harm to babies’ brains.
The new study turned up no evidence that women who take Prozac or a variety of medicines called tricyclic antidepressants during pregnancy in any way affected their children’s IQs, language development or behavior. Dr. Gideon Koren and his colleagues at the University of Toronto reported their findings in the Jan. 23 New England Journal of Medicine.
