Amanda Seyfried has been a welcome addition to the mom community since giving birth to her first child in March. Earlier this month, the actress blasted critics who believe they have a right to comment on a mother’s choices. “Breastfeeding is awesome. Formula is awesome. Feeding your baby is awesome,” she tweeted on July 5. “Not awesome? Judgement.”
Now,the 31-year-old Pan star is opening up about her decision to take Lexapro while pregnant. “I didn’t get off my antidepressant. It’s really for anti-anxiety for me,” she revealed during a recent appearance on Dr. Berlin’s Informed Pregnancy. “I’ve been taking Lexapro for years and years and years, and I didn’t get off of it. I was on an extremely low dose.”
She added: “A healthy parent is a healthy kid.”
Seyfried, who is married to Life in Pieces actor Thomas Sadoski, was diagnosed with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) when she was 19. “It would take me a really long time to put my clothes away int he drawers,” she told labor doula Elliott Berlin and his cohost Kacy Byxbee. “And it’s all about organization and if it doesn’t feel right you have to keep moving until it feels right, keep moving things around until they feel right. I have a thing with numbers, which is really common.”
Taking antidepressants during pregnancy is a highly-debated topic in the medical field. “They may be associated with an increased risk of babies born with a serious respiratory disorder, but the increased risk appears to be less than previous research has suggested,” Chicago-based Ob/Gyn Dr. Jessica Shepherd tells Us Weekly. “With expecting moms we discuss the risks and then determine if the risk outweighs the benefit. If they have severe depression and anxiety, then meds are needed.”
Reproductive endocrinologist Jaime Knopman agrees. “For years the medications used to treat anxiety and depression were not used during pregnancy for fear surrounding their potential side effect profile,” the NY-based doctor tells Us. “We now believe it is more harmful for a woman who suffers with anxiety and depression to be off of medications then on them. The negative emotional impact untreated psychiatric conditions can have during pregnancy can be worse than the potential impact of medications.”
But Knopman notes that there are certain medications with a more proven side effect profile. “We as OB/GYNs always work closely with the mental health provider,” says the Truly, MD cofounder. “We want to ensure that we are giving the most appropriate medications at the most appropriate dose for the appropriate amount.”
