In the current study, we noted that
68% of the women who discontinued
antidepressant treatment proximate to
conception relapsed during pregnancy;
of those who relapsed, approximately
50% did so in the first trimester
of pregnancy and 90% experienced
recurrence of depression by the end of
the second trimester. This is compared
with the 26% of women who relapsed while sustaining preconception
dosages of antidepressant (at least
up until 16 weeks’ gestation) where
again approximately half of those who
relapsed did so in the first trimester.
These reported rates of relapse among
pregnant women who either discontinued
or maintained antidepressant
treatment are strikingly similar to those
reported by Kupfer and colleagues in
nongravid samples