Is Wellbutrin safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about Wellbutrin during pregnancy?

1. Most available data on bupropion in pregnancy does not suggest an increased chance of birth defects, and studies have not found a higher chance of miscarriage among people taking it. 1
2. Newborns exposed close to delivery can be irritable or jittery or have trouble sleeping or eating, and whether bupropion affects a child's later behavior or learning is not known. 1
3. Ventricular septal defect showed an adjusted odds ratio of 2.5 when bupropion was the only antidepressant used in the first trimester, in a study of 7,913 infants with cardiac defects and 8,611 without, while seven other cardiac subgroups showed no material increase. 2
4. Depression affects about 1 in 10 pregnant people, and depression that goes unmanaged has been linked to poor fetal growth, going into labor too early, and low birth weight. 3
5. Perinatal depression is a medical condition rather than a personal failing, and care usually involves therapy, medication, or both, chosen with a provider who knows you are pregnant or nursing. 4

Is Wellbutrin safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. The open question sits here. A case-control study comparing 7,913 infants with cardiac defects against 8,611 without found raised odds of ventricular septal defect after first-trimester bupropion, strongest when bupropion was the only antidepressant used. Seven other cardiac subgroups showed no material increase, and most other bupropion data has been reassuring.
• Second trimester. Second-trimester use has not been linked to a higher chance of miscarriage. Bupropion is also prescribed as a stop-smoking aid, and in a small study of pregnant people using it that way, birth weight, length, head circumference, and Apgar scores looked no different from unexposed babies.
• Third trimester. A baby exposed close to delivery can be irritable, jittery, or have trouble sleeping or eating for a short stretch. Whether bupropion affects later behavior or learning is simply not known, because those studies have not been done. Make sure your medication list reaches your delivery team.