About Lexapro & Pregnancy
Lexapro is a commonly prescribed anti-depressant that is often not recommended during pregnancy, as it is a Category C medication. While there are not any studies that conclusively show that it can harm an unborn fetus, many doctors will switch medications for pregnant women.
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History
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Lexapro, also known as escitalopram oxalate, is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, or SSRI, commonly prescribed for depression and anxiety. Lexapro was developed quickly by the Lundbeck and Forest laboratories as a more biologically available form of the SSRI citalopram. By carefully purifying the medication into the only form that had biological function, Lundbeck and Forest were able to develop a new patent on their previously existing medication.
Identification
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Lexapro and other SSRIs work by preventing the reabsorption of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Blocking reabsorption means that the serotonin stays for longer and at higher levels between neurons, which is where it functions. Serotonin has a number of functions in the brain, including modulating mood and emotion. Some neurological theories behind conditions such as depression suggest that these disorders can be caused by a lack of stimulation of certain neurons. By increasing the levels of serotonin present between neurons, SSRIs have become some of the most widely prescribed medications for anxiety, depression and a few personality disorders.
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Warning
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Lexapro is often not recommended for women who are pregnant. The United States Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, has it classified as a Category C drug, due to concerns that it can damage an unborn fetus. As a result, Lexapro is only recommended for pregnant women for which it is believed that the advantages of the medication for the mother are greater than the risks that it has for the unborn child. Category C status is given to all medications that have been shown to harm fetuses in other animals but for which no human tests have been done.
Effects
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There are reports that link usage of Lexapro during pregnancy with several serious conditions in newborns. Fetuses are especially at risk during the third trimester. These reports link usage of Lexapro with seizures, difficulty breathing/low levels of oxygen, irritability and difficulty feeding, occasionally necessitating a feeding tube. There is also an increased risk of the newborn having permanent pulmonary hypertension, which is a serious and sometimes fatal condition.
Prevention/Solution
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In many cases, if a woman becomes pregnant or wishes to, her physician will shift her onto another, milder drug to treat her anxiety, depression or personality disorder. Since the danger is greatest later in the pregnancy, a woman who is unaware that she is pregnant and takes Lexapro is significantly less likely to harm the fetus. The SSRI drug class has many different compounds with similar action, some of which have been shown in human studies to not harm an unborn child.
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