Antidepressants & Other Birth Defects

Our firm is also investigating the possible link between SSRIs and birth defects such as:

Abdominal Birth Defects: GSK - GlaxoSmithKline, maker of Paxil, sent a letter to doctors and healthcare professionals in September, 2005 advising them of a Paxil label change that, according to data obtained from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study of infants, women who took an SSRI-antidepressant were more likely than those who were not exposed to have an infant with omphalocele (an abnormality in newborns in which the infant's intestine or other abdominal organs protrude from the navel. The strongest effect was reported to be with Paxil, paroxetine, which accounted for 36% of all SSRI exposures.
http://www.antidepressantbirthdefects.com/source/information/Paxil_healthcare_letter0905.pdf
omphalocele: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/9030.htm
abdominal protrusion: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/9030.htm

Anal Atresia: Also called Imperforate anus, anal atresia is a congenital malformation in which the normal perforation we call the anus, is absent.  The end of the intestinal tract has not perforated the skin in the perineal area. Atresia is the absence of a normal opening or failure of a structure to be tubular. We are investigating whether or not there is an association between SSRIs and anal atresia.

Club Foot:  A recent study conducted by the Institute of Reproductive Toxicology at the University of Ulm, Germany and a recent study from the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University found that some women who took  SSRIs  throughout their pregnancy had children born with club feet. True Club foot is a malformation. The bones, joints, muscles, and blood vessels of the limb are abnormal. An infant with club foot has a foot that is inturned, stiff and cannot be brought to a normal position.

Cranial Birth Defects: GSK - GlaxoSmithKline included in the September, 2005 "Dear Doctor" letter that the authors of the above study also found an association of exposure to any SSRI-antidepressant and giving birth to an infant with craniosynostosis (a congenital defect-present at birth. The connections between sutures-skull bones, prematurely close during the first year of life, which causes an abnormally shaped skull.)
http://www.antidepressantbirthdefects.com/source/information/PAXIL_healthcare_letter092905.pdf
craniosynostosis: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001590.htm
skull: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/1127.htm

Limb Reductions: Most people are familiar with the high rates of limb reductions being associated with expectant mothers taking thalidomide in the 1960s. There may be a link between babies born to mothers who took SSRIs during pregnancy and babies being born with limb reduction defects.

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.
http://www.pphnlawyers.com