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Pregnancy

16th Jul 2017

Amanda Seyfried: Why I continued to take antidepressants while pregnant

Her incredible message.

Gillian Fitzpatrick

Pregnancy is an amazing time – but it’s not without its worries, problems, and conflicts.

And it you’re a mum-to-be who has had or continues to battle with mental health issues, pregnancy is particularly complex. Not least if you’re taking antidepressant medication.

It’s something that actress Amanda Seyfried has now addressed.

She gave birth to her daughter in March and has recently been vocal about why every mum needs to prioritise their mental health during and after pregnancy.

Ms Seyfried recently appeared on the latest installment of the Dr Berlin’s Informed Pregnancy podcast and spoke with childbirth educator and doula Elliot Berlin and his co-host, Kacy Byxbee.

The 31-year-old, who is married to Thomas Sadoski, has OCD and anxiety. While pregnant, she revealed that she remained on a low dose of escitalopram – often known by its brand-name, Lexapro.

“I didn’t get off my antidepressant – it’s really for anti-anxiety for me,” she stated. “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.”

Amanda Seyfried antidepressants

 Amanda furthermore said that she won’t revealed her daughter’s name

“I wouldn’t want you to ask me what her name is, because I wouldn’t tell you,” she said in the podcast. “It’s about us as a family,” (although she did state that their circle of friends are in the loop).

The Mamma Mia star went on to say of her 41-year-old husband, whom she eloped with shortly before the birth of their child: “We knew that we wanted to be together and make a baby,” adding that their daughter is “the biggest blessing in the world”.