Breastfeeding has many medical and emotional benefits for the mum and the baby. It is common for depressed mums to feel that breast milk is the one positive thing they are able to give to the baby. And it’s important to note that weaning the baby does not cure postpartum depression.
Most full-term babies do fine nursing while a mom is taking the most common antidepressants. The antidepressants most studied are the SSRIs (Zoloft, Prozac, Paxil, Celexa, Lexapro) and the Tricyclics (Pamelor and Elavil). Some studies have even looked at how much medication was in the babies’ blood, and at their behavior. The two that were “virtually undetectable” in the babies were Zoloft (sertraline) and Paxil (paroxetine). Even though the others were detected in the infants’ blood, the infants were fine.
Developmental testing has been done on exposed infants at 1 1/2 years of age, and the kids all seemed to have the same IQ and met the same developmental milestones as kids whose moms did not take medication.
The best medication is the one that works for you. If you’ve successfully been on a medication before, that is probably the first one to try.
In general, the feeling is that, for mums who want to continue nursing, the risks to the infant are extremely small and the benefits of nursing are very large. You may want to discuss this with your prescribing doctor. Hopefully, they can reassure you.
The most important thing for a baby is a healthy mum. Be well!