This is a much needed topic. Our family has been affected by this. Everyone wants to blame the mother when it was her doctor writing the prescriptions reassuring her there would be no harm done. They were wrong. It is wrong to give mind altering drugs to pregnant women leading them to believe it's perfectly safe. i was warned of caffeine when i was pregnant and now they say SSRI'S are OK?!?! this is vulture capitalism if i ever saw it.
I'm a labor and delivery nurse. The babies come out and DO NOT cry. There is nothing you can do to make these babies cry.(even giving the hep b shot which is another infuriating subject) I tell the mothers during labor that bc of the medicine they are taking, do not to expect their babies to cry when they are born. I recently had a conversation with a coworker who felt we had to keep it a secret that there is an effect on these babies. That statement just blew me away.... just like the secret that young men were experiencing myocarditis after the Covid shot?!?! While my son was complaining his heart was beating hard and fast and I had no idea bc it was censored and kept a secret?? Not only do we not know how it will affect these kids long term....some feel that what we do know should be kept a secret. Infuriating is an understatement 😡
I am amazed that anyone is prescribing SSRIs to pregnant women. I went off them when I got pregnant in 1996 and stayed off for several years until I was done breastfeeding. But I'm on them now. They make a huge difference. And it's not because I didn't spend 20 years of clinical depression trying everything else suggested here, first.
i am happy that you find SSRI'S to be beneficial. I just wish they worked for everyone. Times have changed since 1996 -- sadly. Now they say a nonmedicated pregnant mom is more dangerous to her unborn child than an SSRI. I didn't enjoy being pregnant (i was depressed) but that didn't seem to bother. They are thriving adults now
Yes!!! SOOO many pregnant women taking SSRIs and I see first hand the effects on newborns in first hour of life. Does anyone know the effects after that ? Or we just keep insisting it's safe?
my great nephew had seizures and breathing difficulties at birth. His skull didn't develop correctly (craniosynostosis) which created birthing difficulties. It was a very dangerous situation. He had to be airlifted to a children's hospital where he spent 7 days going through withdrawals that included seizures, breathing difficulties, inconsolable crying. Then he had to wear a helmet for his craniosynostosis. He went through physical therapy to learn to crawl and walk and doctors all say it was the SSRI. there's a great possibility this nephew will have difficulties all his life. we are playing Russian Roulette every time a woman on SSRI'S continues her SSRI throughout pregnancy. i think ots criminal
Thank you so very much for this necessary in depth and truthful article, Dr. McFillin. I've been a follower and fan of yours for several years and you are one if maybe 4 doctors I trust after suffering egregious psychiatric abuse and intentional iotragenic harms.
I cannot thank you enough for presenting these facts and helping to bring them to the public's attention. Like Ginsberg, I have seen the best minds of my generation destroyed and am watching the generations younger than myself actively and intentionally being destroyed by profiteers with corporate and Wall Street interests and completely without conscience. That teenagers and adults are being drugged with neurotoxins developed and still utilized as chemical torture in some countries and far too frequently forcibly so, says a great deal that many in the general public remain unaware of and certain people with corporate and other nefarious interests would prefer not be brought to wider discourse and discussion. This mass drugging causes nervous system destruction. These drugs harm cause a lot of emotional atrophy and destroy dopamine, thereby robbing the people ingesting them of their own ability for happiness and any sort of access to emotions for healthy healing, growth and change.
I worry about how that not only effects each individuals capacity for feeling, empathy and growth but what that is doing for the community and society, our capabilities to come together, work together, experience empathy and social evolution as a whole. There is also the aspect of mislabeling and ignoring the Spiritual aspects of life, as the psuedoscience of psychiatry far too frequently does.
Many thanks again, Dr. McFillin. Your ongoing work, as well as your warm and thoughtful presence and willingness to speak out about all this is very, very deeply appreciated. God Bless you & everyone reading.
Putting my daughter on antidepressants in her mid-teens was my worst parenting mistake. I wish I listened to my mother's wisdom, while my own intuition was thwarted by fear and insecurity. I was an idiot and a coward. By taking responsibility, perhaps I can stop other parents from repeating it. Please, if you have friends who put their angsty teens on antidepressants, speak up! Do so kindly, of course, but speak up!
I agree. While I absolutely LOVE the mission of FAIR and I enjoy reading everything they publish, my concern is that this very important topic will get missed because it is published in the wrong Substack. I'll restack it so that it gets more attention, but I also hope that other Substacks that more closely align with this particular topic will also pick it up and give it more attention and detail.
Also -- I'd LOVE to see someone at HHS pick this topic up and take a closer look. This is right up RFK Jr's alley.
Thank you very much for your feedback. This topic is appearing in FAIR's Substack because it is in alignment with FAIR in Medicine's mission to "support the scientific method, viewpoint diversity, and rigorous inquiry in the search for objective truth, and promote a culture of respectful, open debate." Intolerance is the enemy of free and open inquiry and scientific debate:
Our firm belief in the importance of objective, scientific truth is also the basis upon which FAIR advocates for the rights of biological women and girls in sports and other protected spaces.
Last May we announced that FAIR in Medicine would broaden its scope to explore the role of informed consent in the search for objective scientific truth. We believe that an open and honest exploration of SSRI benefits, risks, and impacts is integral to this inquiry. Without proper informed consent, doctors cannot properly serve patients:
I appreciate your question, and I will repeat my comment to Jaynee, who had the same concern. This topic is actually well-aligned with FAIR in Medicine's mission to "support the scientific method, viewpoint diversity, and rigorous inquiry in the search for objective truth, and promote a culture of respectful, open debate." Intolerance is the enemy of free and open inquiry and scientific debate:
Our firm belief in the importance of objective, scientific truth is also the basis upon which FAIR advocates for the rights of biological women and girls in sports and other protected spaces.
Last May we announced that FAIR in Medicine would broaden its scope to explore the role of informed consent in the search for objective scientific truth. We believe that an open and honest exploration of SSRI benefits, risks, and impacts is integral to this inquiry. Without proper informed consent, doctors cannot properly serve patients:
sexism and racism go hand in hand. You rarely have one without the other. Also this child had his brain experimented on from the minute this child was conceived. he didn't stand a chance. evidently people couldn't tolerate the mother's behavior when she was a child and put her on SSRI'S. She grew up and had a baby who was exposed in utero. we need more tolerance so we stop labeling children mentally ill and then drugging them. People who are racialized are often the first to get labeled and drug in their childhood. It just doesn't happen to white kids. Did we forget the APA apologized for their racist ways. I hope someday they apologize for their Patriarchal ways that can cause as much harm as their racist ways have but I won't hold my breath. Teen age girls are being drugged at higher number than teen age boys. this reeks of sexism which is as rooted in our culture just as racism is.
"it just doesn't happen to white kids?!!!" You're living in lala land. I know oodles of white autistic kids on antipsychotics.... Their white parents are desperate to drug them, desperate for something to fix their intolerable behaviour... You're living in an ivory castle but hey, anything to keep the myth that bad things only happen to black people
I agree. This shouldn’t be a place for publishing on any and all topics as long as it challenges orthodoxy. There are other venues for that. In fact I initially assumed this piece was in the Free Press, which I also subscribe to, until I looked more closely.
We are compelled to publish this series because it is in alignment with FAIR in Medicine's mission to "support the scientific method, viewpoint diversity, and rigorous inquiry in the search for objective truth, and promote a culture of respectful, open debate." Intolerance is the enemy of free and open inquiry and scientific debate:
If you support FAIR's advocacy for the rights of biological women and girls in sports and other protected spaces, then you support the need for objective, scientific truth.
Last year we announced that FAIR in Medicine would broaden its scope to explore the need for objective, scientific truth with regard to SSRI benefits, risks, and impacts:
In the future, we will explore other areas in which scientific debate and inquiry have been stifled by intolerance to the detriment of doctors and patients.
Hope this helps to clarify our purpose in publishing this series. And I do hope The Free Press decides to cover this important issue, and others, that FAIR in Medicine will be taking on in the future.
Makes sense: "But by 'redefining everyday struggles as a medical disorder', we have created a culture where a 15-minute doctor’s visit can result in a prescription for a powerful SSRI—a drug that has failed to produce any meaningful benefit for this age range and poses significant risks." I know what you mean; in fact, these everyday struggles are nothing but 'structural violence': https://unbekoming.substack.com/p/heresy
Big pharma did not run antidepressant drug trials on children at first stating safety concerns. However, when they were told their drugs can stay on the market an additional 6 months before generic forms would be available, suddenly the issue of safety concerns in children disappeared. An additional 6 months is equivalent to billions more in profit.
I work on addressing endogenous imbalances. The problem is, this takes time and the client needs be an active participant. Most people still just want a pill, a quick fix, and will never find resolution. The medical model is too deeply engrained in the public.
First, I hope you enjoyed the article and found it informative.
Second, as I have mentioned to others who raised the same question, this topic is actually well-aligned with FAIR in Medicine's mission to "support the scientific method, viewpoint diversity, and rigorous inquiry in the search for objective truth, and promote a culture of respectful, open debate." Intolerance is the enemy of free and open inquiry and scientific debate:
Our firm belief in the importance of objective, scientific truth is also the basis upon which FAIR advocates for the rights of biological women and girls in sports and other protected spaces.
Last May we announced that FAIR in Medicine would broaden its scope to explore the role of informed consent in the search for objective scientific truth. We believe that an open and honest exploration of SSRI benefits, risks, and impacts is integral to this inquiry. Without proper informed consent, doctors cannot properly serve patients:
I think that a crucial element missing from this discussion is the effect that high-aluminum-content vaccines like the HPV shots have on the body. Anxiety is a common adverse event following the administration of these products.
This is a much needed topic. Our family has been affected by this. Everyone wants to blame the mother when it was her doctor writing the prescriptions reassuring her there would be no harm done. They were wrong. It is wrong to give mind altering drugs to pregnant women leading them to believe it's perfectly safe. i was warned of caffeine when i was pregnant and now they say SSRI'S are OK?!?! this is vulture capitalism if i ever saw it.
I'm a labor and delivery nurse. The babies come out and DO NOT cry. There is nothing you can do to make these babies cry.(even giving the hep b shot which is another infuriating subject) I tell the mothers during labor that bc of the medicine they are taking, do not to expect their babies to cry when they are born. I recently had a conversation with a coworker who felt we had to keep it a secret that there is an effect on these babies. That statement just blew me away.... just like the secret that young men were experiencing myocarditis after the Covid shot?!?! While my son was complaining his heart was beating hard and fast and I had no idea bc it was censored and kept a secret?? Not only do we not know how it will affect these kids long term....some feel that what we do know should be kept a secret. Infuriating is an understatement 😡
I am amazed that anyone is prescribing SSRIs to pregnant women. I went off them when I got pregnant in 1996 and stayed off for several years until I was done breastfeeding. But I'm on them now. They make a huge difference. And it's not because I didn't spend 20 years of clinical depression trying everything else suggested here, first.
i am happy that you find SSRI'S to be beneficial. I just wish they worked for everyone. Times have changed since 1996 -- sadly. Now they say a nonmedicated pregnant mom is more dangerous to her unborn child than an SSRI. I didn't enjoy being pregnant (i was depressed) but that didn't seem to bother. They are thriving adults now
Yes!!! SOOO many pregnant women taking SSRIs and I see first hand the effects on newborns in first hour of life. Does anyone know the effects after that ? Or we just keep insisting it's safe?
What is it that you see in the newborns ? Are you a nurse or doc ? This is a very interesting statement you make .
my great nephew had seizures and breathing difficulties at birth. His skull didn't develop correctly (craniosynostosis) which created birthing difficulties. It was a very dangerous situation. He had to be airlifted to a children's hospital where he spent 7 days going through withdrawals that included seizures, breathing difficulties, inconsolable crying. Then he had to wear a helmet for his craniosynostosis. He went through physical therapy to learn to crawl and walk and doctors all say it was the SSRI. there's a great possibility this nephew will have difficulties all his life. we are playing Russian Roulette every time a woman on SSRI'S continues her SSRI throughout pregnancy. i think ots criminal
Thank you so very much for this necessary in depth and truthful article, Dr. McFillin. I've been a follower and fan of yours for several years and you are one if maybe 4 doctors I trust after suffering egregious psychiatric abuse and intentional iotragenic harms.
I cannot thank you enough for presenting these facts and helping to bring them to the public's attention. Like Ginsberg, I have seen the best minds of my generation destroyed and am watching the generations younger than myself actively and intentionally being destroyed by profiteers with corporate and Wall Street interests and completely without conscience. That teenagers and adults are being drugged with neurotoxins developed and still utilized as chemical torture in some countries and far too frequently forcibly so, says a great deal that many in the general public remain unaware of and certain people with corporate and other nefarious interests would prefer not be brought to wider discourse and discussion. This mass drugging causes nervous system destruction. These drugs harm cause a lot of emotional atrophy and destroy dopamine, thereby robbing the people ingesting them of their own ability for happiness and any sort of access to emotions for healthy healing, growth and change.
I worry about how that not only effects each individuals capacity for feeling, empathy and growth but what that is doing for the community and society, our capabilities to come together, work together, experience empathy and social evolution as a whole. There is also the aspect of mislabeling and ignoring the Spiritual aspects of life, as the psuedoscience of psychiatry far too frequently does.
Many thanks again, Dr. McFillin. Your ongoing work, as well as your warm and thoughtful presence and willingness to speak out about all this is very, very deeply appreciated. God Bless you & everyone reading.
This is an extremely important topic!! The "medicalization" of childhood is no small issue.
Putting my daughter on antidepressants in her mid-teens was my worst parenting mistake. I wish I listened to my mother's wisdom, while my own intuition was thwarted by fear and insecurity. I was an idiot and a coward. By taking responsibility, perhaps I can stop other parents from repeating it. Please, if you have friends who put their angsty teens on antidepressants, speak up! Do so kindly, of course, but speak up!
I agree. While I absolutely LOVE the mission of FAIR and I enjoy reading everything they publish, my concern is that this very important topic will get missed because it is published in the wrong Substack. I'll restack it so that it gets more attention, but I also hope that other Substacks that more closely align with this particular topic will also pick it up and give it more attention and detail.
Also -- I'd LOVE to see someone at HHS pick this topic up and take a closer look. This is right up RFK Jr's alley.
Hi Jaynee,
Thank you very much for your feedback. This topic is appearing in FAIR's Substack because it is in alignment with FAIR in Medicine's mission to "support the scientific method, viewpoint diversity, and rigorous inquiry in the search for objective truth, and promote a culture of respectful, open debate." Intolerance is the enemy of free and open inquiry and scientific debate:
https://www.fairforall.org/fair-in-medicine/
Our firm belief in the importance of objective, scientific truth is also the basis upon which FAIR advocates for the rights of biological women and girls in sports and other protected spaces.
Last May we announced that FAIR in Medicine would broaden its scope to explore the role of informed consent in the search for objective scientific truth. We believe that an open and honest exploration of SSRI benefits, risks, and impacts is integral to this inquiry. Without proper informed consent, doctors cannot properly serve patients:
https://news.fairforall.org/p/fair-in-medicine-charts-a-new-direction?r=2g1pka&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true
Hope this helps to clarify our purpose in publishing this series.
What does this have to do with intolerance and racism?
Concerned that we are getting far afield here from the purpose of this organization.
I appreciate your question, and I will repeat my comment to Jaynee, who had the same concern. This topic is actually well-aligned with FAIR in Medicine's mission to "support the scientific method, viewpoint diversity, and rigorous inquiry in the search for objective truth, and promote a culture of respectful, open debate." Intolerance is the enemy of free and open inquiry and scientific debate:
https://www.fairforall.org/fair-in-medicine/
Our firm belief in the importance of objective, scientific truth is also the basis upon which FAIR advocates for the rights of biological women and girls in sports and other protected spaces.
Last May we announced that FAIR in Medicine would broaden its scope to explore the role of informed consent in the search for objective scientific truth. We believe that an open and honest exploration of SSRI benefits, risks, and impacts is integral to this inquiry. Without proper informed consent, doctors cannot properly serve patients:
https://news.fairforall.org/p/fair-in-medicine-charts-a-new-direction?r=2g1pka&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true
Hope this helps to clarify our purpose in publishing this series.
sexism and racism go hand in hand. You rarely have one without the other. Also this child had his brain experimented on from the minute this child was conceived. he didn't stand a chance. evidently people couldn't tolerate the mother's behavior when she was a child and put her on SSRI'S. She grew up and had a baby who was exposed in utero. we need more tolerance so we stop labeling children mentally ill and then drugging them. People who are racialized are often the first to get labeled and drug in their childhood. It just doesn't happen to white kids. Did we forget the APA apologized for their racist ways. I hope someday they apologize for their Patriarchal ways that can cause as much harm as their racist ways have but I won't hold my breath. Teen age girls are being drugged at higher number than teen age boys. this reeks of sexism which is as rooted in our culture just as racism is.
"it just doesn't happen to white kids?!!!" You're living in lala land. I know oodles of white autistic kids on antipsychotics.... Their white parents are desperate to drug them, desperate for something to fix their intolerable behaviour... You're living in an ivory castle but hey, anything to keep the myth that bad things only happen to black people
I agree. This shouldn’t be a place for publishing on any and all topics as long as it challenges orthodoxy. There are other venues for that. In fact I initially assumed this piece was in the Free Press, which I also subscribe to, until I looked more closely.
We are compelled to publish this series because it is in alignment with FAIR in Medicine's mission to "support the scientific method, viewpoint diversity, and rigorous inquiry in the search for objective truth, and promote a culture of respectful, open debate." Intolerance is the enemy of free and open inquiry and scientific debate:
https://www.fairforall.org/fair-in-medicine/
If you support FAIR's advocacy for the rights of biological women and girls in sports and other protected spaces, then you support the need for objective, scientific truth.
Last year we announced that FAIR in Medicine would broaden its scope to explore the need for objective, scientific truth with regard to SSRI benefits, risks, and impacts:
https://news.fairforall.org/p/fair-in-medicine-charts-a-new-direction?r=2g1pka&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true
In the future, we will explore other areas in which scientific debate and inquiry have been stifled by intolerance to the detriment of doctors and patients.
Hope this helps to clarify our purpose in publishing this series. And I do hope The Free Press decides to cover this important issue, and others, that FAIR in Medicine will be taking on in the future.
Makes sense: "But by 'redefining everyday struggles as a medical disorder', we have created a culture where a 15-minute doctor’s visit can result in a prescription for a powerful SSRI—a drug that has failed to produce any meaningful benefit for this age range and poses significant risks." I know what you mean; in fact, these everyday struggles are nothing but 'structural violence': https://unbekoming.substack.com/p/heresy
Superbly crafted article. Accurate, alarming, and part of a large problem well-identified.
Adolescence is a time we all “tried on” dubious haircuts, new ways of negotiating social life, and living in the future.
Drugs like sterilizing hormones or benzos would obviously have a huge blunting impact on learning.
“Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD), a devastating condition that can permanently alter sexual function even after discontinuation,”
I remember a very old friend had to take benzodiazepines and ceased to be able to orgasm, which seemed to last a long time.
Nighmare for him. I think orgasms are underrated in life.
This is both terrifying and vital information!!
And once again, why I am a paid subscriber.
Please, PLEASE keep doing what you are doing!!!
Big pharma did not run antidepressant drug trials on children at first stating safety concerns. However, when they were told their drugs can stay on the market an additional 6 months before generic forms would be available, suddenly the issue of safety concerns in children disappeared. An additional 6 months is equivalent to billions more in profit.
I work on addressing endogenous imbalances. The problem is, this takes time and the client needs be an active participant. Most people still just want a pill, a quick fix, and will never find resolution. The medical model is too deeply engrained in the public.
What does any of this have to do FAIR's mission??
First, I hope you enjoyed the article and found it informative.
Second, as I have mentioned to others who raised the same question, this topic is actually well-aligned with FAIR in Medicine's mission to "support the scientific method, viewpoint diversity, and rigorous inquiry in the search for objective truth, and promote a culture of respectful, open debate." Intolerance is the enemy of free and open inquiry and scientific debate:
https://www.fairforall.org/fair-in-medicine/
Our firm belief in the importance of objective, scientific truth is also the basis upon which FAIR advocates for the rights of biological women and girls in sports and other protected spaces.
Last May we announced that FAIR in Medicine would broaden its scope to explore the role of informed consent in the search for objective scientific truth. We believe that an open and honest exploration of SSRI benefits, risks, and impacts is integral to this inquiry. Without proper informed consent, doctors cannot properly serve patients:
https://news.fairforall.org/p/fair-in-medicine-charts-a-new-direction?r=2g1pka&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true
Hope this helps to clarify our purpose in publishing this series.
I think that a crucial element missing from this discussion is the effect that high-aluminum-content vaccines like the HPV shots have on the body. Anxiety is a common adverse event following the administration of these products.