The video shows what happened to the baby after the mother took Citraline during pregnancy

Beth was told it would be safe, but her video shows the result

A baby was born with withdrawal symptoms after her mother took a common drug she was told would be safe through pregnancy. Beth Tricklebank took 200 milligrams of sertraline—an antidepressant—during her pregnancy, but baby Jack showed obvious signs of being affected by the drug at birth.

Jack was seen shaking in his bed with tremors for the first three weeks of his life. sShe shares her experience to raise awareness among other parents who are prescribed the drug.

bait shared a clip of little Jack visibly shaking as a warning. “It was really hard for me – the mum guilt was crazy,” said Beth, from Derbyshire. “The earthquakes started right after his birth. The midwives were pretty sure it was my medication and the doctors confirmed it when we were in the hospital.

“There were no other signs that he was affected by the medication, apart from the tremors. The doctors knew what was causing the tremors when I confirmed the medication I was taking. They explained that sometimes this happens and there is nothing to help him except to monitor him.

Beth was prescribed medication after the loss of her mother in September 2021, which worsened her mental health. Relying on them “to work,” Beth says her doctor told her the risk of coming off the drug during pregnancy was “far greater” than the risk sertraline would pose.

She said: “It would be a risk to come off sertraline during pregnancy because of my depression and the length of time I was on it. My mental health was definitely not strong enough to come off of them completely, and due to the high dosage I was taking, quitting cold turkey would have been dangerous for me and the withdrawal effects would have affected my own body.

But she claims she had no idea what to expect when her baby was born in July 2024. She said: “When I was prescribed them, the GP didn’t say anything about pregnancy because I wasn’t pregnant when they were prescribed. I contacted them once I got pregnant and they said there was a very small chance of the baby coming out but it was very rare – and they didn’t explain what that would look like, and didn’t talk about reducing my dose.

In the video, Jack can be seen experiencing tremors, while Beth added text to show a quote from a doctor, reading: “Don’t worry, sertraline is completely safe to use in pregnancy, there’s just a very small chance of it affecting the baby.”

The tot was not given any medication to treat the tremors, although doctors advised Beth to breastfeed so that a small amount of sertraline would pass into his system to help ease the withdrawal, although she did not find this helpful. Fortunately, her baby is now “perfectly fine and healthy” and has met all developmental milestones, so his mother does not believe he is suffering from long-term effects.

While Beth admits that she needs the medication, and that the pregnancy “can’t survive” without it, she recommends lower doses in the weeks leading up to the birth, to limit the effect on the baby. The mother added: “It made me feel very guilty – and surprised, because I never knew this could happen.

“I decided to share my story to make others aware of the risks, so they can discuss the best way forward with their doctor. And also to remind doctors that informed consent is very important in pregnancy, and women should always be given full and complete facts.

“I like to spread awareness so that other mothers can be informed and aware – because I wasn’t.”

Sertraline is generally considered a safe and preferred antidepressant during pregnancy and breastfeeding, with the NHS advising that the benefits for managing severe depression/anxiety often outweigh the minor risks. However, it may be associated with a very low risk of congenital heart problems, or with short-term, mild withdrawal symptoms in the baby.