Mental Health ED Visits Spike When Pregnancy Meds Stop

Discontinuing antidepressants during pregnancy linked to nearly double the risk for emergency psychiatric visits.

Published on Feb. 11, 2026

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A new study found that more than 80% of pregnant patients stopped or interrupted their antidepressant medications during pregnancy, which was associated with nearly double the risk for an emergency department visit for mental health reasons. The highest rates of emergency visits occurred in the first and late third trimesters for those who discontinued their medications.

Why it matters

Untreated and undertreated mental health disorders during pregnancy are linked to increased risks for preeclampsia, low birth weight, and neurodevelopmental delays in children. Suicide is also a leading cause of maternal deaths globally. This study highlights the critical importance of maintaining mental health treatment throughout pregnancy.

The details

The study, presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) 2026 Annual Pregnancy Meeting, analyzed pharmacy claims data from 1,462 pregnant patients in Pennsylvania. The most common diagnoses were anxiety (74%), depressive disorder (29.7%), and ADHD (19.2%). Most patients (64.6%) had at least a 60-day gap in filling their antidepressant medication during pregnancy, and 17.8% had no fills at all. Nearly half stopped or interrupted their meds in the first trimester.

  • At the start of pregnancy, ED visits increased for patients who stopped their antidepressants, peaking in the second month at 58 visits per 1,000 patients compared to 37 per 1,000 for those who continued.
  • Another peak occurred during the late third trimester, with 59 ED visits per 1,000 for those not taking medication and 29 per 1,000 for those continuing.

The players

Kelly B. Zafman, MD

A second-year maternal-fetal medicine fellow at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia who presented the study results.

Rubiahna L. Vaughn, MD, MPH

An associate professor of psychiatry and ob/gyn and women's health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and director of the Division of Women's Mental Health at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.

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What they’re saying

“Confronting the maternal mental health crisis is essential to reducing maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States.”

— Kelly B. Zafman, MD, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellow (Medscape)

“It confirms everything that we know to be true, which is that the impact of untreated or undertreated mental illness in the perinatal period is quite significant, and when patients don't get their medicine, there's a high morbidity associated with that.”

— Rubiahna L. Vaughn, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Ob/Gyn (Medscape)

What’s next

The FDA Expert Panel in July 2025 reviewed the safety of SSRIs in pregnancy, and changes suggested like a black box warning on antidepressants could cause significant harm to patients, according to Dr. Zafman.

The takeaway

This study underscores the critical need for clinicians to be experts and advocates on the appropriate use of antidepressant medications during pregnancy, in order to address the maternal mental health crisis and reduce risks to both mothers and their children.