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Birth Defects Associated With Antidepressants
Since September 2005, information has been emerging that certain antidepressants may cause birth defects, including cardiac (heart), pulmonary (lung), neural-tube defects (brain and spinal cord), craniosynostosis (skull defect), infant omphalocele (abdominal wall defects), club foot (one or both feet turn downward and inward), and anal atresia (complete or partial closure of the anus), among others. Research is ongoing for discovery of whether or not the following antidepressants also cause such birth defects:
- Celexa manufactured by Forest Labs (generic form is citalopram)
- Effexor manufactured by Wyeth (generic form is venlafaxine)
- Lexapro manufactured by Forest Labs (generic form is escitalopram)
- Pristiq manufactured by Wyeth (generic form is desvenlafaxine)
- Prozac manufactured by Eli Lilly (generic form is fluoxetine)
- Zoloft manufactured by Pfizer (generic form is sertraline hydrochloride)
Mothers who have taken antidepressants during their pregnancy because they thought it was safe have given birth to babies with birth defects ranging from cleft lip to life-threatening congenital heart defects and, in some cases, the babies have been required to get full heart transplants.
Medical researchers have been studying information that establishes the link between antidepressants and the following congenital defects:
- Abdominal Birth Defects / Omphalocele
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Anal atresia (complete or partial closure of the anus)
- Cardiac (heart) defects
- Cleft lip and cleft palate
- Clubfoot (one or both feet turn downward and inward)
- Craniosynostosis (skull defect)
- Limb Defects
- Neural-tube defects (brain and spinal cord, spina bifida)
- PPHN (Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn)
Heart Birth Defects: The FDA issued a Public Health Advisory on December 8, 2005 based on U.S. and Swedish studies showing that exposure to certain antidepressants in the first trimester of pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of heart birth defects. Most of the cardiac defects observed in these studies were atrial or ventricular septal defects, conditions in which the wall between the right and left sides of the heart is not completely developed.
PPHN: Persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) is a serious and life-threatening lung condition that occurs soon after birth of the newborn. Babies with PPHN have high pressure in their lung blood vessels and are not able to get enough oxygen into their bloodstream. About 1 to 2 babies per 1000 babies born in the U.S. develop PPHN shortly after birth, and often they need intensive medical care.
On July 19, 2006, the FDA issued a Public Health Advisory for SSRIs, including Celexa (citalopram), Fluvoxamine, Lexapro (escitalopram), Prozac (fluoxetine), Symbyax (olanzapine and fluoxetine) and Zoloft (sertraline) based on a study that suggests there may be additional risks of SSRI medications during pregnancy. In this study, PPHN (Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn) was six times more common in babies whose mothers took an SSRI antidepressant after the 20th week of the pregnancy compared to babies whose mothers did not take an antidepressant.
If you or your child has suffered injury due to the use of an antidepressant during pregnancy, call Avera & Smith for a free consultation. We can help get what you deserve.
