I want to know if there is any research or experience about the
possible harmful effects on the fetus from the use of parnate during
pregnancy.  Parnate is in the MAO inhibitor class of anti-depressant
medication.  I have only found information on the use of other types
of anti-depressant medication.

Dear moser10 -

Thanks for checking with Google Answers.  First of all let me say that
I am not a physician nor am I giving advice about the use of this drug
in pregnancy.  I know you'll agree that final decisions about whether
or not to take a drug at any time are properly made by the patient and
the doctor.

In the case of Parnate, there have not been extensive studies of the
drug in pregnant women.  The reasons are obvious: researchers cannot
put women or their future offspring at risk by doing the types of
experiments that are necessary to scientifically prove the safety or
danger of a drug.

Yet there is some evidence of the effect of this drug during
pregnancy, to a limited extent in women and to a greater extent in
animals.

According to the website on MAO Inhibitors of the National Library of
Medicine's Medline:

"A limited study in pregnant women showed an increased risk of birth
defects when these medicines were taken during the first 3 months of
pregnancy." Furthermore, animal studies showed that MAO inhibitors
slowed the growth and "increased excitability of the newborn when very
large doses were given to the mother during pregnancy."

Medline Plus Health Information:  Antidepressants, Monoamine Oxidase
(Mao) Inhibitor (Systemic)
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/antidepressantsmonoamineoxidas202054.html#SXX24

(click on "Precautions While Using this Medicine")

SmithKline Beecham, the manufacturer of Parnate, states in its
prescribing information:

"Pregnancy Warning:  Use of any drug in pregnancy, during lactation or
in women of child-bearing age requires that the potential benefits of
the drug be weighed against its possible hazards to mother and child.
Animal reproductive studies show that Parnate passes through the
placental barrier into the fetus of the rat, and into the milk of the
lactating dog."

Prescribing Information PARNATE brand of tranylcypromine sulfate
tablets 10mg
http://www.citizen.org/ELETTER/labeling/parnate398.pdf

If you would like a lucid account of other information concerning
Parnate, I recommend that you go to the report of the Public Citizen's
Research Group at:

http://www.citizen.org/eletter/drugprofiles/tranylcypromine.htm

I also recommend the website of the National Institute of Mental
Health for an explanation of the various types of antidepressants
currently in use:

Antidepressant Medications
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/medicate.cfm#ptdep7

Good luck to you,

Alanna

Google search terms: parnate pregnancy
://www.google.com/search?q=parnate+pregnancy&sourceid=opera&num=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

From: 
http://www.rxlist.com/frame/display.cgi?drug=PARNATE

Rxlist is an online drug database. 

"Tranylcypromine is in the FDA pregnancy category C. This means that
it is not known whether tranylcypromine will be harmful to an unborn
baby. Do not take this medication without first talking to your doctor
if you are pregnant or could become pregnant during treatment.
 •  It is not known whether tranylcypromine will harm a nursing baby.
Do not take tranylcypromine without first talking to your doctor if
you are breast-feeding a baby "