Health news special as told by Donie

Anti-depressant link from Mum to kids’             BP (Blood Pressure)

   

Women who take anti-depressants while pregnant are more likely to have children with a serious high blood pressure condition, a new study has found.

Pulmonary hypertension refers to high blood pressure in the lungs. It is a rare condition that results in shortness of breath and breathing problems. It is strongly linked to heart failure.Swedish researchers looked at more than 1.6 million births which took place in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland between 1996 and 2007. The babies were assessed when they were 33 weeks old.

Around 27,000 of the mothers involved took anti-depressants during pregnancy, while almost 55,000 said they had previously had mental health issues, but were not currently taking anti-depressants.

The study found that while the risk of persistant pulmonary hypertension among the children was overall very low, this risk increased if anti-depressants were taken during pregnancy, particularly during late pregnancy when the risk doubled.

While acknowledging the risk is low, the researchers said that doctors should still be cautious when treating pregnant women with anti-depressants.