Zoloft and BF

[ChasingPeace]

Hi. My ds is 10 and 1/2 weeks old, and I've been feeling depressed for awhile. I took the PPD assessment and scored a 62 with some "red" answers. I saw my MW today and she prescribed zoloft for me and referred me to a therapist. I'm so afraid, though, of taking zoloft while bf-ing. I'm going to research it before I get the script filled, but does anyone have any info on the risks of zoloft to baby? Thanks

[oneotamama]

i took it for awhile when ds was about a year old and still bfing. even though most articles i read said that it was okay, i still always felt funny about it. it is obviously being excreted into breastmilk so i guess you just have to decide whether it's better for baby to have a little bit of zoloft in their system, or a mommy who isn't happy? i took up yoga after i went off. maybe you could look at alternate non-drug "fixes."

[ChinaDoll]

I've been taking zoloft since my DD was 6 months old (she's now 22 months) and it hasn't ever seemed to have any ill effects on her. From everything I researched, it has a very short life while in your body, and though it is excreted in breastmilk, when the baby is tested, very little shows up in their bloodstream. It is considered one of the safest to take during nursing and pregnancy -- and for more info, definitely ask your OB/pediatrician.

I know for me it has been worth the (very slight) risk to the kids for me to be a happy sane Mama!

Good luck in deciding!

[DarkHorseMama]

Hugs, mama. Zoloft is considered to be the "safest" SSRI medication for nursing moms. Here are a couple of links for you from Kelly's site:

http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/...ssant-ref.html
http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/...hale10-02.html

I have been taking Zoloft for nearly four years now; throughout my two pregnancies and (now) tandem nursing a toddler and a newborn (2½ years and 3 months).

I don't know if your midwife has your dosage started low and increasing after a week or two. I started with 50 mg from the outset. Zoloft makes a "starter pack" that starts at 25mg for a week then goes up to a 50mg dosage which can help with some of the side effects of starting the medication. You may or may not have any uptake effects, but I did and my doc never warned me about them. A friend who had been on Paxil for a while was the one who clued me in that there was a transition period of a week or two where one might actually feel nauseous or off-kilter physically. Just letting you know in case your midwife did not.

Had my friend not told me I would probably have gone straight off the Zoloft thinking that if this was the way I was going to feel then to heck with it! Also, as my friend further mentioned, the good effects will likely not be seen by you initially but rather those who are close to you. I remember having been on the meds for a month and saying to my DH that it didn't seem like they were really doing any good, that I didn't feel any different, etc. He laughed at me and said, "Oh, it's working. Trust me." :LOL

Later this year, I will probably start to step off the meds as I have had counselling that has helped me further deal with some of the issues that caused the depression. However, it has taken me four years to get to the point that I know I am ready to back off.

Best of luck with starting Zoloft. I'm sure you will benefit from its help, just hang in there the first couple of weeks. More hugs!