Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on the effect of the consumption of the paxil and seroxat forms of the drug paroxetine on the incidence of depression among pregnant women.

There have been no recent discussions with the Royal Colleges on the effects of taking the paxil and seroxat forms of paroxetine on the incidence of depression among pregnant women.

The Mandate from the Government to NHS England includes an objective for NHS England to work with partner organisations to reduce the incidence and impact of postnatal depression through earlier diagnosis, and better intervention and support.

The Government will provide an additional £75 million over the next five years for services to support women with mental ill health in the perinatal period.

The British National Formulary advises that medication should be prescribed only when it is necessary, and in all cases the benefit of administering the medicine should be considered in relation to the risk involved. This is particularly important during pregnancy, when the risk to both mother and fetus must be considered.