Now, I am a pregnant woman. Is it safe to take Prozac?

Question

Hi doctor,

I am on Prozac treatment for two months now for depression and anxiety. I am on the minimum dose (half a pill a day) and I am doing very well with this treatment. However, I just found out I am pregnant. My gynecologist says that I should stop Prozac immediately, but my psychiatrist says to keep taking them, as it is a very low dose and it will not harm the baby. My anxiety and panic attacks were quite bad before. Now I am much more relaxed and I am just feeling like a normal person again.

What should I do?
Should I continue the treatment?
Is it safe for the baby?

Please suggest.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Congratulations on your good news and I went through your query.

In my opinion, you can continue with Prozac (Fluoxetine) in your case. There are no human studies conducted on Prozac, but animal studies have shown variable effects. There seems to be a mild increase in the incidence of cardiac abnormalities in the baby, of around 2 %.

But, practically at your dosage and taking the risk versus benefit ratio, it would be better to continue the treatment than to stop it and the risk of having panic attacks and anxiety.

Depression is any way at a peak during pregnancy and there is no point in aggravating it by stopping the medicines. In a nutshell, it is not as safe as Paracetamol in pregnancy, but the risk is minimal. I think you should go ahead with it.

All the best.