Overview

• The FDA assembled a 10-member panel in which nine members have publicly questioned SSRI safety and only one, Dr. Kay Roussos-Ross, urged that antidepressants remain a critical option for treating perinatal depression.
• Panelists repeatedly cited unconfirmed associations between SSRI use and autism, miscarriages, and birth defects without acknowledging evidence that well-controlled studies find no such links.
• Psychiatry associations and individual experts described the session as unbalanced and misleading, stressing that untreated depression poses serious risks including self-harm and adverse birth outcomes.
• An FDA spokesperson defended the forum as independent and grounded in rigorous science, emphasizing that policy decisions adhere to gold-standard evidence.
• Providers and advocacy groups warn the risk-focused discourse may lead to stricter warnings or access barriers that endanger care for pregnant patients.