Marlene Freeman, MD: Getting to the Truth About SSRIs and Pregnancy (Video)

On July 21, 2025, the US Food and Drug Administration convened an expert panel to discuss the use and safety of selective serotonergic reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants during pregnancy. Although we have considerable medical research supporting the reproductive safety of SSRIs and other antidepressants, the panel raised concerns about the use of this class of medications during pregnancy. In the first installment of a new video series from Psychiatric Times, Brain Trust: Conversations in Psychopharmacology , Joseph F. Goldberg, MD, meets with Marlene P. Freeman, MD, Associate Director of the MGH Center for the Women’s Mental Health, to discuss the treatment of depression during pregnancy and the use selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in this setting. Watch: Getting to the Truth About SSRIs and Pregnancy With Marlene Freeman, MD While any medication used during pregnancy may carry some risk, there is data accumulated over the last 20 years to support the use of SSRIs and other psychiatric medications during preganncy. “Our job in perinatal psychiatry is to be able to integrate years of studies and be able to explain to patients what seems to be true risk and what is not,” notes Dr. Freeman. Other Professional Organizations Share Their Opinions Our commentary on the FDA’s panel can be found HERE and includes links to relevant studies on the use of SSRIs during pregnancy. Since the airing of the panel many medical organizations and professional groups supporting women with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders have raised similar concerns about the recent FDA panel and have echoed our concerns that the information released by the FDA in this report may actually put women and their families at risk.