Taking a prescription antidepressant while pregnant may raise the risk of miscarriage by 68 percent. This is according to new research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Antidepressants are commonly used drugs during pregnancy, with up to 3.7 percent of women taking them at that time. Scientists looked at the health records of 5124 pregnant women who had clinically verified miscarriages up to 20 weeks gestation and a large sample of women who did not have a miscarriage. Of those who had a miscarriage, 284 (5.5 per cent) had taken antidepressants while pregnant. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, particularly paroxetine and venlafaxine were associated with increased risk of miscarriage, and so were higher daily doses of either antidepressant. It was also found that taking a combination of different antidepressants significantly raised the risk of miscarriages. 'These results, which suggest an overall class effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, are highly robust given the large number of users studied,' wrote study author Dr Anick Birard, of the University of Montreal. Depression can be a serious illness and it is not advisable to stop taking an antidepressant without discussion with your own doctor. Antidepressants can be highly effective for some people and make a significant improvement to their life. However, there are natural alternatives which work well for many people. If you have a history of miscarriage and are wishing to fall pregnant, you may wish to explore alternatives to antidepressants, such as tyrosine, magnesium or 5-HTP. For more information on natural alternatives see my book Help for Depression and Anxiety. Reference: Hamid Reza Nakhai-Pour, Perrine Broy, and Anick Bérard. Use of antidepressants during pregnancy and the risk of spontaneous abortion. Can. Med. Assoc. J., May 2010