Prenatal treatment with the antidepressant fluoxetine on maternal and neonatal behavior in sheep

Background: Fluoxetine is commonly prescribed to treat depression during pregnancy. We aimed to evaluate the effects of prenatal fluoxetine exposure on maternal-offspring behavior in a non-depressed sheep model.
Methods: On day 119 ± 1 of a 151-day expected gestation, Hampshire ewes were randomly assigned to receive intravenous fluoxetine (10 mg/kg for the first two days and 5 mg/kg daily thereafter until parturition) or a control vehicle. Video was recorded of 8 fluoxetine-treated ewes and 10 control ewes for 2 hours before and after parturition.
Results: Fluoxetine did not alter dam behavior during the peripartum period, including time spent lying before the first birth, lying bout duration, probability of needing birth assistance, duration of birth assistance when provided, and time spent touching her lambs. However, in utero exposure impaired neonatal vigor as lambs spent less time standing and tended to spend less time nursing compared to unexposed lambs.
Conclusion: Neonatal behav..., , , # Prenatal treatment with the antidepressant fluoxetine on maternal and neonatal behavior in sheep

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3tx95x6rh](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3tx95x6rh)

## Description of the data and file structure

These materials provide the data and R script used in this experiment and are referenced in the corresponding paper by the same name.

Domingues_etal_SSRI Behavior Data_241011.xlsx: Excel file containing the behavioral data for ewes and lambs during the peripartum period. The second sheet contains descriptions of each column variable.

Domingues_etal_SSRI Behavior Data Analysis_241011.nb.html: R script runs the statistical analyses on the data in the Excel file and generates Figure 1 in the corresponding paper. The nb.html file, which includes annotated code and output, can be opened in any web browser or in RStudio (e.g., using File -> Open File).