Open AccessAntidepressant use during pregnancy
Author(s) -
Natalie V. Scime
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
uwomj/medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2560-8274
pISSN - 0042-0336
DOI - 10.5206/uwomj.v85i1.4206
Subject(s) - medicine , medical prescription , knowledge translation , health professionals , alternative medicine , antidepressant , medline , pregnancy , health care , psychiatry , family medicine , nursing , knowledge management , political science , pathology , computer science , law , anxiety , biology , genetics
Antidepressant use during pregnancy is a widely debated and controversial topic among researchers and clinicians. Despite a wealth of studies examining the adverse outcomes and relative safety of these prescription medications, inconsistencies in study design and methodology make it challenging to draw conclusions and translate findings into clinical practice. Consequently, healthcare professionals are often uncertain about how to counsel pregnant women regarding antidepressant use, leading patients to feel unsupported and conflicted about where to receive information and how to make an informed decision. To remedy this clinical issue, many knowledge translation initiatives exist in Canada, including the Motherisk program, patient decision aids, professional handbooks, and critically appraised summaries of evidence published in scholarly journals. These endeavours represent important progress in knowledge dissemination and uptake among patients and healthcare professionals. However, further implementation and evaluation of targeted knowledge translation strategies are warranted to improve the knowledge and support necessary in making decisions regarding antidepressant use during pregnancy.