Anti-Depressants and Birth Defects

Since the inception of the Food and Drug Administration, many pharmaceutical drugs have been taken off the market after the discovery of serious birth defects associated with use. Sadly, birth defect side-effects are usually difficult to test for and often slip through the Food and Drug Administration’s stringent filters.

Everything that enters a pregnant woman’s bloodstream can potentially affect the baby. But there are few mothers who are willing to go through clinical trials while pregnant, thus birth defect side-effects are usually only discovered after a large number of cases are reported in mothers taking certain pharmaceuticals while pregnant.

The most recent outbreak of birth defect drug side-effects is associated with certain popular anti-depressants known as SSRIs.

SSRIs and Complications

SSRIs are of particular concern when it comes to the number of children born with birth defects as the number of pregnant women prescribed the drugs as a preventative measure against post-partum depression has risen in recent years.

The most recent case making a splash in the media is against the anti-depressant Paxil, but there are a number of others that have already had warnings issued concerning their risk factors. Some of the possible birth defects resulting from the use of certain SSRIs include:

• Cardiac defects
• Pulmonary defects
• Neural-tube defects
• Craniosynostosis
• Infant omphalocele
• Club foot
• Anal atresia

Contact Us

If your child has suffered from birth defects and you were taking SSRIs during pregnancy, you may be able to sue for damages incurred. Contact the Wausau personal injury lawyers of Habush Habush & Rottier, S.C. at 800-242-2874 to learn more about your legal rights and options