Celexa and Pregnancy: An Overview
Celexa® (
citalopram hydrobromide) is a pregnancy Category C medicine, meaning that it could potentially cause harm to your unborn child.
Celexa and Pregnancy Category C
The U.
S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses a pregnancy category system to classify the possible risks to a fetus when a specific medicine is taken during pregnancy. Pregnancy Category C is given to medicines that have not been studied in pregnant women but show side effects to the fetus in animal studies. A pregnancy Category C medicine may still be given to a pregnant woman if the healthcare provider believes that the benefits to the pregnant woman outweigh the possible risks to the unborn child.
In animal studies, giving Celexa to pregnant rats increased the risk of miscarriages and birth defects and decreased the weight of the baby rats. In humans, there have been reports of problems in newborn babies born to mothers who were taking Celexa. These problems can be as minor as irritability and as serious as
seizures. Your healthcare provider may consider lowering your Celexa dose during the last trimester of your pregnancy in order to avoid these problems.
It is important to note that
depression in the mother may also not be healthy for a baby. Therefore, Celexa may be given to a pregnant woman if the healthcare provider believes that the benefits to the pregnant woman outweigh any possible risks to the unborn child.
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