Are there any other risks for the baby?

If you take antidepressants during the last trimester of pregnancy, your baby might have short-term symptoms of quitting the medicine. The symptoms could include:

• Jitters.
• Irritable behavior.
• Poor feeding.
• A breathing condition called respiratory distress.

These symptoms may last for up to two weeks after birth. But there's no proof that stopping antidepressants or slowly reducing the dose near the end of pregnancy lowers the risk of these symptoms. Also, stopping your treatment or slowly lowering the dose might raise the risk of depression coming back after you give birth. That's especially true for people who have serious depression.

The connection between antidepressant use during pregnancy and the risk of autism spectrum disorder in babies is not clear. But most studies have shown that the risk is very small. Some studies have shown no risk at all. More research is needed.

Some research also links use of antidepressants during pregnancy with a higher risk of diabetes during pregnancy. That condition is called gestational diabetes. The higher risk is specifically linked with the antidepressants venlafaxine and amitriptyline. More research is needed. Other studies suggest that use of SSRI antidepressants during pregnancy doesn't raise the risk of gestational diabetes.