Do Antidepressants Lower IVF Success? A Major New Study Says No
If you take an antidepressant, you have probably wondered whether you need to stop it before IVF. Plenty of people quit before a transfer because they assume the medication will lower their odds of getting pregnant.
A large new study on antidepressants and IVF success says you probably do not have to make that trade. Researchers in Denmark followed tens of thousands of women through fertility treatment and compared the ones on antidepressants with the ones who were not. The women on medication did just as well.
A Nationwide Look at 123,146 Embryo Transfers
The study, published in Fertility and Sterility in 2026, used Denmark's national health registries to follow every woman who underwent assisted reproductive technology treatment between 2006 and 2019. That came to 44,542 women and 123,146 embryo transfers. The researchers sorted women into three groups based on antidepressant use around the time of embryo transfer:
Current users: 1,057 women taking antidepressants at the time of transfer
Recent users: 1,580 women who had used antidepressants but stopped before transfer
No use: 42,861 women with no antidepressant history
They focused on women with mild to moderate depression and excluded those with severe psychiatric conditions. SSRIs were by far the most common medication, used by about 80% of current users. The two outcomes measured were clinical pregnancy, confirmed by ultrasound, and live birth.
Antidepressants and IVF Success: The Pregnancy and Live Birth Numbers
Women taking antidepressants had nearly the same results as women who were not.
Clinical pregnancy rate was 33.7% for current users compared to 36.5% for women not on medication
Live birth rate was 22.1% for current users compared to 24.6% for women not on medication
After adjusting for factors like age, body mass index, smoking, and type of treatment, the small gaps narrowed further. The adjusted relative risk for both clinical pregnancy and live birth in current users was 0.96, a difference that was not statistically meaningful. Women who had recently stopped antidepressants showed the same pattern.
In plain terms: taking an antidepressant during IVF did not reduce the chance of getting pregnant or having a baby.
What This Means If You Are on Medication
Going off your medication is not a small thing. IVF is hard enough on its own, with the injections, the monitoring, and the waiting. Stopping something that keeps you steady right before a transfer can leave you worse off when you most need to feel okay.
For years, the fear that antidepressants might lower IVF success has led some people to taper off before a cycle. This study gives you real numbers to weigh against that fear. If you and your prescriber decided medication is right for you, the data suggests it is not working against your chances.
So the decision can be about your mental health, not a bet you place out of fear that the medication is hurting your cycle. If you are trying to figure out whether to stay on your medication, infertility counseling can help you separate the emotional questions from the medical ones.
What the Study Cannot Tell You
This research has limits. It was observational, which means it can show that outcomes were similar but cannot prove the medication itself caused that result. The researchers used antidepressant prescriptions as a stand-in for mild to moderate depression, so they could not measure each woman's symptom severity directly. Women with severe psychiatric conditions were excluded, so the findings do not extend to every situation.
There was also one nuance. Women who used antidepressants only sporadically had a slightly lower chance of pregnancy and live birth. The reasons are unclear and could reflect the underlying depression rather than the medication. None of this changes the headline finding for consistent users, but it is a reminder that medication decisions belong with your own prescriber, who knows your history.
This study does not tell you what to do. It takes one specific fear off the table so you can decide with better information.
If you are on an antidepressant and planning IVF, you do not have to pick between your mental health and your odds of success. The data says they are not in conflict. Talk to your prescriber, lean on your support, and make the call based on what keeps you well.
Explore more topics in Infertility and IVF or Schedule a Consultation.
