Stopping antidepressants during pregnancy doubles mental health risks

Women who stopped taking their antidepressants during pregnancy were nearly twice as likely to experience a mental health emergency and were more likely to have suicidal thoughts, psychosis or substance overdose than those who took their medications, a study found. Presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine meeting, the study tracked insurance health records for nearly 4,000 women with depression or anxiety diagnoses before their pregnancies who gave birth in 2023 and 2024. The researchers note antidepressants are safe to use during pregnancy. Mental health conditions are the greatest contributor to U.S. maternal deaths. A separate analysis of maternal deaths from 2018 to 2023 found drug overdoses, homicides and suicides accounted for more than a quarter of all deaths among pregnant and postpartum women. (HealthDay News article, 2/12/26)