Introduction: Desvenlafaxine is an antipsychotic drug categorised as dual reuptake inhibitor of serotonin & nor–adrenaline. It inhibits these neurotransmitters in the pre–synaptic cleft & popularly known as SNRI.

 Methods: During our experiment, Desvenlafaxine was given to adult swiss albino mice in the dose of 80mg per kg body wt, for first 6days of gestation (group 2) and from gestation days 1–18 in group 3, after detection of vaginal plug which was designated as day 0 of pregnancy. Controls (group 1) were given equal amount of tap water for the entire period of gestation.

Result: Placenta of group 2, showed mild parenchymal degeneration and significantly increased number of syncytial knots. Group 3 placenta showed marked thickening and hyalinization of the basal zone.

Conclusion:Above pathological changes and their consequent  interference  with  fetal  blood supply  are suggestive  of  probable role of desvenlafaxine in fetal  growth retardation