Antidepressants stop women breastfeeding

There’s more bad news about antidepressants this week. Not only are they little better than a sugar pill, yet while causing horrendous side effects, a new study has discovered that they could stop new mothers from breastfeeding. SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) antidepressants are taken by some mothers for post-natal blues, but researchers have discovered the drugs interfere with the production of breast milk. Women taking antideprssants lactated some 20 hours later than women who weren’t on the drugs, and some needed special help before they could begin breastfeeding. The SSRIs interfere with serotonin-regulated glands that produce breast milk, say researchers from the University of Cincinnati. This comes in the wake of the major STAR*D study that found the drugs were no better than a placebo, or sugar pill. Other studies have also demonstrated that young people taking antidepressants are more likely to attempt suicide. (Source: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2009; doi: 10.1210/jc.2009-1575).