The study is first of its kind to identify as well as ascertain a link between antidepressant use and lactation in humans.
Lactation is the secretion of milk from the mammary glands to feed the young.
"The breasts are serotonin-regulated glands, meaning the breasts' ability to secrete milk at the right time is closely related to the body's production and regulation of the hormone serotonin," said Nelson Horseman, of the University of Cincinnati and co-author of the study.
"Common antidepressant drugs like fluoxetine, sertraline and paroxetine are known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drugs and while they can affect mood, emotion and sleep they may also impact serotonin regulation in the breast, placing new mothers at greater risk of a delay in the establishment of a full milk supply," Horseman added.
Study details
To determine the effects of the SSRI drugs on milk production in new moms, researchers carried out a lab experiment on human and animal cells.
They found that serotonin enhances the ability of the breast to secrete milk when needed.
Then they looked at 431 new mothers from childbirth through initial days of motherhood to find out whether drugs that affect serotonin levels would also affect the breast’s ability to secrete milk when required.
Overall, only eight participants consumed the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants.
Antidepressants linked to delay in lactation
The researchers found those who took the SSRI antidepressants after giving birth had a twofold increased risk of experiencing a delay in lactation compared to others who did not take the drug.
The lactation is considered to be delayed when a woman is not able to breastfeed within three days or 72 hours of child birth.
In this study, the women taking SSRIs took an average time of 86 hours after childbirth to lactate compared to 69.1 hours for those who did not take the drugs.
More research is needed
Despite the outcomes of the study, the researchers feel there is need for further research to draw a more tangible connection between antidepressants use and delayed lactation.
As only eight of the study participants consumed antidepressants, the findings cannot be extrapolated, they marked.
The researchers said, "More human research is needed before we can make specific recommendations regarding SSRI use during breastfeeding," such as studies on a larger number of women and comparing different antidepressant drugs.
The study is scheduled to appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
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