RATIONALE: Women are increasingly prescribed selective serotonin reuptake 
inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy, with potential implications for 
neurodevelopment. Whether prenatal SSRI exposure has an effect on 
neurodevelopment and behavior in the offspring is an important area of 
investigation.
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this paper was to review the existing preclinical and 
clinical literature of prenatal SSRI exposure on serotonin-related behaviors and 
markers in the offspring. The goal is to determine if there is a signal in the 
literature that could guide clinical care and/or inform research.
RESULTS: Preclinical studies (n = 4) showed SSRI exposure during development 
enhanced depression-like behavior. Half of rodent studies examining anxiety-like 
behavior (n = 13) noted adverse effects with SSRI exposure. A majority of 
studies of social behavior (n = 4) noted a decrease in sociability in SSRI 
exposed offspring. Human studies (n = 4) examining anxiety in the offspring 
showed no adverse effects of prenatal SSRI exposure. The outcome of one study 
suggested that children with autism were more likely to have a mother who was 
prescribed an SSRI during pregnancy.
CONCLUSIONS: Preclinical findings in rodents exposed to SSRIs during development 
point to an increase in depression- and anxiety-like behavior and alteration in 
social behaviors in the offspring, though both the methods used and the findings 
were not uniform. These data are not robust enough to discourage use of SSRIs 
during human pregnancy, particularly given the known adverse effects of maternal 
mental illness on pregnancy outcomes and infant neurodevelopment. Future 
research should focus on consistent animal models and prospective human studies 
with larger samples.