Venlafaxine

What are the benefits of taking venlafaxine?

Venlafaxine can prevent or reduce the unpleasant symptoms associated with some mental health conditions. This is important for good quality of life, and to ensure that a pregnant woman remains well in preparation for looking after her baby.

Are there any risks of taking venlafaxine in pregnancy?

Most studies of pregnant women taking venlafaxine do not raise concern that it causes birth defects, stillbirth, preterm delivery, or low infant birth weight. However, for some pregnancy outcomes, only small numbers of women have been studied and ongoing research is ideally required. Studies investigating whether miscarriage may be more common following venlafaxine use have produced mixed findings, although the most reliable of these studies shows no increased chance of miscarriage.

Venlafaxine affects the central nervous system and can potentially cause short-term withdrawal symptoms in the newborn baby if taken in the weeks before delivery. Observation of your baby after birth may therefore be advised.

Medicines that work in a similar way to venlafaxine have been linked in rare cases to a lung problem in newborn babies called persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN). There is no good information on whether venlafaxine use around the time of delivery increases the chance of PPHN. As a precaution, your baby will be checked for breathing problems by a midwife or paediatrician.

There is no evidence that use of venlafaxine in pregnancy directly affects a child’s intelligence or behaviour. While this is reassuring, more studies are needed that follow children up to school age.

Are there any alternatives to taking venlafaxine?

Possibly. Other medicines can be used to treat depression, anxiety, and panic disorder. Some mental health conditions can also be treated with talking therapies instead of medicines. However, this does not work for everyone and some people may prefer to take a medicine. If a woman’s condition is well-controlled with venlafaxine, it may be best to stay on it rather than try something new and risk a relapse.

Ideally, women planning a pregnancy should speak to their GP or specialist to determine whether venlafaxine is still the best option for them. Similarly, women who have an unplanned pregnancy while taking venlafaxine should be reviewed at the earliest opportunity by their GP or specialist.

What if I prefer not to take medicines during pregnancy?

It is very important that mental health conditions are appropriately treated to ensure your wellbeing during pregnancy and while looking after your baby. Discontinuing venlafaxine can put you at risk of relapse and stopping abruptly can cause you to experience withdrawal symptoms. Your doctor will only prescribe medicines when absolutely necessary and will be happy to talk to you about any concerns that you might have.

Please do not stop taking venlafaxine without first speaking to your GP or specialist.