Mark & Associates, P.C. Attorneys At Law

Antidepressants in Pregnancy

Birth Defects Related to Antidepressant Use in Pregnancy

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, or “SSRI” antidepressants, are often prescribed to women of childbearing age.  SSRI drugs include Celexa (citalopram), Fluvoxamine, Lexapro (escitalopram), Paxil (paroxetine), Prozac (fluoxetine), Symbyax (olanzapine/fluoxetine), and Zoloft (sertraline).  Many women who have taken these drugs have not known the risks the drugs posed to their fetus/embryo.  Following are some of the newborn health problems and birth defects that may be the result of antidepressant use during pregancy.

Newborn Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension (PPHN)

Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn, or PPHN, is 6 times more common in babies of mothers who used a SSRI antidepressant in the second half of pregnancy.

• The results of a study that looked at the use of antidepressants during pregnancy in mothers of babies born with a serious condition called persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) were published in February, 2006 in The New England Journal of Medicine. The study found that babies born to mothers who took SSRIs 20 weeks or after in their pregnancies were 6 times as likely to have persistent pulmonary hypertension as babies born to mothers who took no antidepressants while pregnant.  
• Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn is a very serious and sometimes fatal condition involving the lungs.  It can occur shortly after birth and cause high pressure in the baby’s lung blood vessels.  This means that the newborn is not able to get enough oxygen into its bloodstream.

Heart Defects

Paxil (paroxetine) exposure to the drug in the first trimester of pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of cardiac birth defects including atrial and ventricular septal defects.

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

SSRI use during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.  This is basically withdrawal and produces high-pitched crying, tremors, convulsions and disturbed sleep in the newborn baby. One study found that 30% of infants exposed to SSRIs in utero had symptoms of neonatal abstinence syndrome and that 13% of those exposed had severe symptoms.

Other SSRI Effects on the Newborn

It has been shown that exposure to SSRI antidepressants late in pregnancy is associated with such problems as irritability, difficulty feeding and difficulty breathing in the newborn.