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Review
. 2008 Jul;33(4):302-18.

Perinatal depression: treatment options and dilemmas

Teri Pearlstein  1
Affiliations
Review

Perinatal depression: treatment options and dilemmas

Teri Pearlstein. J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2008 Jul.

Abstract
in English, French

The treatment of depression during pregnancy and the postpartum period raises unique concerns about safety for the developing fetus and the infant. An increasing number of studies suggest adverse effects from untreated stress, anxiety and depression as well as adverse effects from antidepressant and other psychotropic medications. Even when studies suggest a lack of short-term adverse effects with some medications, the paucity of systematic longitudinal follow-up studies investigating the development of children exposed to medications during pregnancy and breastfeeding causes apprehension. This review's objective is to highlight what is currently known about the negative effects of untreated disease and exposure to psychotropic medication, the treatment dilemmas confronting women with perinatal depression and issues that future studies should address so that a woman with perinatal depression can make an optimally informed decision.

Le traitement de la dépression au cours de la grossesse et en période post-partum soulève des préoccupations particulières au sujet de la sécurité du fœtus en développement et du nouveau-né. De plus en plus d'études indiquent que le stress, l'anxiété et la dépression non traités ont des effets indésirables, tout comme les antidépresseurs et d'autres psychotropes. Même si des études indiquent que certains médicaments n'ont pas d'effet indésirable à court terme, la rareté des études de suivi longitudinales systématiques sur le développement des enfants exposés à des médicaments in utero et pendant l'allaitement demeure préoccupante. Cette revue vise à cerner les connaissances actuelles des effets négatifs du non-traitement des maladies et de l'exposition aux médicaments psychotropes, les dilemmes auxquels font face les femmes qui ont besoin de traitement pour une dépression périnatale et les questions sur lesquelles les études à venir devraient porter pour que ces femmes puissent prendre une décision éclairée.

Keywords: antidepressive agents; breastfeeding; depression; postpartum period; pregnancy.

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