Researchers have revealed that women who take antidepressants during pregnancy could be predisposing their infants to type 2 diabetes and obesity later in life.

The study finds a correlation between the use of the medication fluoxetine during pregnancy and an increased risk of obesity and diabetes in children.

Currently, up to 20 per cent of woman in the United States and approximately seven per cent of Canadian women are prescribed an antidepressant during pregnancy.

Study's senior investigator Alison Holloway, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at McMaster University, said obesity and Type 2 diabetes in children is on the rise and there is the argument that it is related to lifestyle and availability of high calorie foods and reduced physical activity, but our study has found that maternal antidepressant use may also be a contributing factor to the obesity and diabetes epidemic.

Their study does not suggest women should avoid taking antidepressants during pregnancy, only that there may be risks associated with antidepressants that haven't been previously identified, Holloway says.