Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor use during pregnancy increases the risk of postpartum hemorrhage and anemia: a hospital-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are known to increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding.

OBJECTIVE

Study the risk of bleeding-related complications in relation to SSRI in pregnancy.

PATIENTS/METHODS: This was a hospital-based cohort study. All women who gave birth at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm over a 5-year period (2007 to 2011) were included in the study. Those women who the electronic maternal health record indicated were using SSRI (n = 500) were considered exposed, and all other women formed a control population (n = 39,594). The main outcome measures were blood loss, postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), PP anemia and length of hospitalization.

RESULTS

The absolute risk of PPH and PP anemia for the 1.2% exposed to SSRI were 18.0% and 12.8%, respectively. Women with a vaginal non-surgical delivery who reported use of SSRI during pregnancy had approximately a 2-fold increased risk of both PPH (OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 2.0-3.5) and PP anemia (OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.5-2.9), as compared with controls. Blood loss and length of hospitalization were significantly higher among women using SSRI than non-users (arithmetic mean 484 mL vs. 398 mL, 3.8 days vs. 2.4 days, respectively).

CONCLUSION

The use of SSRI during pregnancy increases blood loss and doubles the risk of PPH and PP anemia in a setting where SSRI had not been considered a risk factor for increased blood loss. Because PPH is a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity, the awareness of bleeding-related complications is important, both in relation to pregnancy and to surgery in general.