Small study hints SSRIs delay breast milk in new moms
Lactation started later in women on antidepressants
By Nathan Seppa
Breast milk takes longer to start flowing in new mothers using SSRI antidepressants than in moms not on the drugs, researchers report in the February Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Although the new study is too small to yield clear conclusions or change clinical practice, the authors say, the findings raise knotty questions about the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors during late pregnancy.
“There’s no question” that this finding should lead to further study of SSRI use and of serotonin’s role in inhibiting breast milk production, says Robert Collier, a lactation biologist at the University of Arizona in Tucson who was not involved in the new work.
Researchers grew curious about the effects of SSRIs on lactation after animal tests reported in this study and in earlier work suggested that serotonin, a neurotransmitter, also plays a role in regulating lactation.