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Editor: Robert Binstock
Profession: Paxil Side Effect Attorney

Category: Paxil News

A new study shows that one in seven women are depressed either near or during pregnancy. The study appears in the October issue of American Journal of Psychiatry. The study found that more than half of the women who suffer from postpartum depression were suffering from depression before they became pregnant. The study profiled 4,398 women who gave birth between 1998 and 2001 found that over 15 percent experience depression within 9 month before, 9 months after, or during pregnancy.

The study also says that over 93 percent of those identified with depression near or during pregnancy had a mental health visit or were prescribed antidepressants. More than 75 percent received antidepressants and the most common type of antidepressants prescribed were from the group known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). These drugs include Paxil, which has been linked to persistent pulmonary hypertension and cardiovascular malformations in newborns.

"The biggest news here is that we need to manage depression as a chronic condition in women of childbearing age, rather than assume depression is a temporary condition that can be either triggered or relieved by getting pregnant or giving birth," Whitlock said. "Women with a history of depression should be closely monitored for depressive symptoms during prenatal and postpartum care."