Posted by demon_child_cin-666 on March 12, 2006, at 14:45:52
In reply to Pregnancy and Effexor XR?, posted by grandma on March 12, 2006, at 12:20:09
I have been on drugs for bipolar (manic depression)for 12 years and I have heard many views on this subjet. Personally, I feel that if drinking and smoking throughout your pregnancy can harm a baby, then a pill you take everyday for a chemical imbalance could also do just as much harm.
I guess that it will take a few decades and alot of babies being used as research, for doctors to realize that anything strong enough to change a persons mood is certainly strong enough to have an effect on an unborn baby.
I don't mean to scare you, but just remember the past few decades, and look at the things that doctors didn't think would harm an unborn child (alcohol, smoking). I don't believe that there is enough evidence for a doctor to confidently tell anyone that Effexor...or any other drug used to treat a mood disorder, is ok to take while pregnant.
You may want to check with her doctor and see what kind of statistics he has seen to say that taking the Effexor is safe for the baby. Gather as much information as you can and see what the research tells you. Then decide if you should speak to your daughter about it.
I may be wrong, but I know that if I were ever to get pregnant, the first thing that I would cut out of my life would be all of my medications (no matter what the doctor said). It may be more dangerous for me because of relapse, but I couldn't put my child through the threat of not knowing what the drug would do to them.
> Our daughter is six months pregnant and has been on Effexor XR for about 1 year. The results have been great and her OB says there are no known side effects to unborn babies. However there was a warning on our local T.V. news the other night about Effexor XR and pregnancy. We have not told our daughter of this news release so as to not frighten her, but we are feeling confused and frightened. Is there anybody out there that has gone through pregnancy and delivery while on Effexor XR. We would apperciate some feed back if possible.
poster:demon_child_cin-666
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060310/msgs/619392.html