No clear autism link to antidepressant use during pregnancy, large study finds

Key Points:

• A large analysis of data from over 25 million pregnancies found no increased risk of autism or ADHD in children born to mothers who used antidepressants during pregnancy after adjusting for confounding factors such as maternal mental health and genetics.
• The study challenges claims by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has asserted without evidence that certain antidepressants increase fetal risk for developmental disorders and has linked vaccines to autism.
• Higher risks observed in children of mothers who took antidepressants were also seen in children whose fathers used antidepressants during the pregnancy and in those whose mothers used them before but not during pregnancy, suggesting shared family traits rather than medication effects.
• Older tricyclic antidepressants (amitriptyline and nortriptyline) were linked to increased risks but are typically used for more severe cases, indicating that underlying maternal mental health severity may influence outcomes rather than the drugs themselves.
• Researchers recommend that antidepressants should not be withheld during pregnancy due to unproven neurodevelopmental risks, as untreated maternal depression poses significant risks to both mother and child.