Paroxetine (Paxil)

Paroxetine was first marketed by the pharmaceutical company SmithKline Beecham in 1992. It has a trade name Seroxat and is can be used to reduce depression and its symptoms.

Risks: If a woman takes this in the first 3 months of her pregnancy, then it might cause fetal heart deformation and defects in the child. While on the other hand, if it is taken on the later part of pregnancy then it will cause persistent pulmonary hypertension which is a severe lung problem in the child. Apart from that the child will also have deformed brain and skull known as anencephaly. Organs might not function well, a condition known as omphalocele, and head sutures known as craniosynostosis might persist in the child as he/she grows up.

Recommendation: The doctors suggest avoiding this medicine during the time of pregnancy for a woman, due to its serious adverse effects.

Sertraline (Zoloft)

It was first introduced in the market by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer in 1991, and since then it has a quite a large number of prescriptions in the US. Its trade name is Zoloft.

Risk: Just like Paroxetine, Sertraline is also associated with persistent pulmonary hypertension when taken during the later periods of pregnancy. It can also cause heart deformation and defects and organs might not function well, a condition known as omphalocele.

Recommendation: Despite all the risk associated with this medicine, doctors do recommend this due to its lower adverse effects. The effects for using this are sometimes lower than those associated with a depressed woman.