SSRI Antidepressants & Pregnancy

About SSRIs, Pregnancy & The Value of PPHN Lawyers

Millions of young women have turned to prescription antidepressants (Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, Prozac). Lacking adequate warnings from pharmaceutical manufacturers, these women continue to take the drugs while they are pregnant. One particular class of antidepressants – called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) – has been linked to serious birth defects when taken during pregnancy. In particular, SSRIs have been linked to Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension in Newborns (PPHN). SimmonsCooper has trained PPHN lawyers on our staff who can assist you, should that need ever arise.

Recent research has focused on the safety of the drugs most commonly prescribed for depression — selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). SSRIs include fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), citalopram (Celexa), and sertraline (Zoloft), among others. Three closely related drugs are duloxetine (Cymbalta), nefazodone (Serzone), and venlafaxine (Effexor).

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) now recommends that women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant should specifically avoid taking Paxil.

SSRIs include:

• Paxil
• Zoloft
• Prozac
• Celexa
• Cipralex
• Effexor
• Luvox
• Remeron
  

About PPHN

Symptoms of PPHN appear immediately at birth.

In a normal birth, a baby takes its first breath and the lungs expand. The lungs add oxygen to the lungs, and the pulmonary arteries expand to carry this oxygenated blood throughout the body.

In a child with PPHN, the pulmonary arteries do not expand. In addition to starving vital organs, including the brain, of oxygen, this can cause a dangerous increase in blood pressure.

The good news about PPHN is that it can be treated to alleviate the immediate symptoms. These babies can appear normal after treatment. Unfortunately, every second their organs lacked oxygen could have caused serious damage which may not show up for several months.

This damage was also preventable if doctors and their patients had adequate warnings about the dangers of taking SSRIs during the third trimester of pregnancy.

Unfortunately, the bad news about PPHN is that many children who have PPHN-related symptoms at birth may later have marked developmental delays.

If you took an SSRI during the third trimester of pregnancy, and your newborn had respiratory complications during his or her first minutes of life, our PPHN lawyers would like to speak with you. We are investigating the link between SSRIs and PPHN and whether drug manufacturers hid the dangers of the popular medications.