Is the Risk of Preterm Birth and Low Birth Weight Affected by the Use of Antidepressant Agents during Pregnancy? A Population-Based Investigation

Background Untreated depression during pregnancy increases the risk of morbidity and mortality in the mother and child. Therefore, specific treatments are required for this population. Objective The study aimed to investigating the effect of antidepressant medication used during pregnancy with reference to the risk of preterm birth (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW). Methods A population-based study was carried out with data provided by the healthcare utilization database of Lombardy, an Italian region with about ten million inhabitants. The study included 384,673 births from 2005 to 2010. Maternal use of antidepressants before and during pregnancy was investigated. Log-binomial regression was used to estimate the association between the use of antidepressants during pregnancy, compared to the non-use or use just before pregnancy, and the prevalence ratio of PTB and LBW. Results Women who used antidepressants during pregnancy had a 20% (95% CI: 10-40%) increased prevalence of both PTB and LBW compared to those who never used antidepressants. There was no evidence that women who used antidepressants during pregnancy had a higher prevalence of the considered outcomes compared to women who used antidepressants before pregnancy, but stopped during pregnancy. Such findings were confirmed by considering separately the effects of SSRIs and other antidepressants together. Conclusions Our findings suggest that depression in itself, rather than antidepressant medication, might be implicated in the causal pathway of PTB and LBW.