A recent study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology revealed that pregnant women who take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during their second or third trimesters are five times more likely to have a premature delivery than those not taking them. Such antidepressant drugs include sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), and fluoxetine (Prozac).

Researchers also found that pregnant women who take benzodiazepines, a type of psychoactive anti-anxiety drug, at any point during their pregnancies are also at a higher risk of having a premature delivery. Their babies are also more likely to be born underweight with respiratory and other health problems.

While only nine percent of women not on any medication gave birth prematurely, roughly half of all women on benzodiazepines did. Seventeen percent of the benzodiazepine babies were born with respiratory distress syndrome and about one third of them were sent to neonatal intensive care units (ICUs). Only six percent of babies from women who were not on medications had to go to a neonatal ICU, three percent of which involved respiratory problems.

Dr. Ronit Calderon-Margalit, lead researcher of the study from Hebrew University’s Hadassah School of Public Health, noted that it was unclear from the study whether or not the benefit being derived from taking the drugs is worth the significant increase in birthing complications. He believes that further studies must be conducted to verify which specific drugs are correlated to the complications and evaluate the necessity of pregnant women needing to use such drugs.