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Fetal Effects of In Utero Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SRI) Antidepressant Exposure

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Fetal Development

Abstract

In utero serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) exposure is relatively common and neonatal behavioral outcomes vary greatly. Such exposure has led to questions about whether these effects reflect an acute short-lived pharmacological phenomenon that results in a “withdrawal” condition, or sustained neurological changes associated with altered serotonin (5-HT) signaling that begins long before birth. Emerging reports now suggest that certain effects associated with in utero SRI exposure become evident during gestation. For instance, in utero SRI exposure appears to influence fetal brain blood flow and neurobehavior. In this chapter, we summarize current research evidence reporting the fetal effects of in utero SRI exposure. Given the paucity of empiric fetal data in humans, we draw from what we know about three postnatal findings that may reflect fetal developmental sequelae associated with in utero SRI exposure.

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Acknowledgement

We are grateful to Ursula Brain, Leanne Fells, and Meisan Brown-Lum for their editorial assistance in the preparation of this chapter. GEH is supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR), BC Women’s Health Research Institute and NeuroDevNet. TFO is the R. Howard Webster Professor in Early Child Development (UBC, College of Interdisciplinary Studies). DR was supported by an Investigatorship Award from the Child & Family Research Institute. None of the authors have conflicts of interest, including financial interests that are relevant to the study reported in this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Gillian Hanley PhD & Dan Rurak PhD

  2. Child & Family Research Institute, University of British Colombia, 950 West 28th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V5Z 4H4

    Kaia Hookenson MSc, Dan Rurak PhD & Tim F. Oberlander MD

  3. Department of Pediatrics, University of British Colombia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Kaia Hookenson MSc & Tim F. Oberlander MD

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  1. Gillian Hanley PhD
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  2. Kaia Hookenson MSc
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  4. Tim F. Oberlander MD
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Correspondence to Gillian Hanley PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Psychology Science Laboratories, University of Durham, Durham, United Kingdom

    Nadja Reissland

  2. Queen’s University, School of Nursing Queen’s University, KINGSTON, Ontario, Canada

    Barbara S. Kisilevsky

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Hanley, G., Hookenson, K., Rurak, D., Oberlander, T.F. (2016). Fetal Effects of In Utero Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SRI) Antidepressant Exposure. In: Reissland, N., Kisilevsky, B. (eds) Fetal Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22023-9_18

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