Pregnant women who are treating their depression with antidepressants (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)) deliver babies with longer umbilical cords than others, according to the results of a study published in the medical journal PLoS ONE. A situation that causes a risk of the cord wrapping around the baby and increased fetal activity.
Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland and the University Hospital of Kuopio (Finland) carried out a study with 24,000 women who gave birth between 2002 and 2012 to analyze the effects of the most prescribed antidepressants, the selective reuptake inhibitors. serotonin (SSRI), on pregnancy, fetal development and health status when babies are born.
Antidepressants reduce the activity of babies
Scientists observed that 1.7% of pregnant women are treated with antidepressants and in the majority of these women, it is SSRI. The most commonly used was citalopram.
The study also found that babies of mothers who used citalopram during pregnancy had longer umbilical cords, and had low birth activity scores. They are twice as prone to intensive care as other infants.
“A long umbilical cord can weaken fetal circulation and expose the fetus to a lack of oxygen during pregnancy. pregnancy or even cause complications during childbirth. However, these babies exposed in utero have a longer umbilical cord than those of unexposed newborns, ”explains researchers from the University of Eastern Finland and the University Hospital of Kuopio. “This association between the use of prenatal SSRIs and the length of the umbilical cord finally suggests that SSRIs increase fetal activity and mobility in the uterus. When the fetus moves, the umbilical cord stretches and eventually lengthens, ”says Julia Kivistö, lead author of the study.
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