Exposure of dams to fluoxetine during lactation disturbs maternal behavior but had no effect on the offspring behavior

Abstract Fluoxetine is one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for treatment of depression during pregnancy as well as postpartum. Nevertheless, fluoxetine can cross the placental barrier and/or be secreted through breastmilk and questions remain unanswered regarding safety of the unborn and/or nursing infant. Passive administration of antidepressants to infants can cause neurological developmental delay and/or dysfunction. To date, there are limited studies on neurobehavioral effects due to passive administration of fluoxetine in nursing animals. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of fluoxetine exposure on the behavior of lactating dams and their offspring. Dams received either 1, 10 or 20 mg/kg fluoxetine via oral gavage (controls received water alone) from lactating day (LD) 1 to 21. Maternal behavioral studies were conducted from LD5 to LD7 and offspring studies were conducted from LD2 to LD60. Results showed dysfunction in maternal behavior, both in direct and indirect behavior, but there were no differences and/or deficiencies observed in offspring behavior. These data suggest that the impairment of dams maternal behavior combined with the amount of fluoxetine that the offspring received through breast milk during lactation did not alter their social behavior in infancy and/or adulthood, suggesting no neurodevelopmental damage associated with maternal use of fluoxetine. This study contributes to the field of human psychiatric diseases by further elucidating the effects of antidepressant medications on the health of mothers as well as children who were passively exposed to drug treatment.