Paxil Birth Defects: Baby Beware!

July 20th, 2009. By LucyC

 

Depression during pregnancy is a health risk not only for the mother, but also for her baby, yet it’s not widely publicized.  According to information on the March of Dimes website—the March of Dimes being a leading non-profit organization for pregnancy and baby health—two of every 10 women experience symptoms of depression during pregnancy. That’s considerable.

So where’s the health risk to the baby? You get a prescription for an antidepressant and hope for the best, right? Wrong. The fallback treatment for depression has become antidepressant drugs, the most common type being selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs. SSRIs, such as Paxil (paroxetine) which are associated with serious cardiovascular malformations, primarily ventricular septal defects (VSDs) and atrial septal defects (ASDs). The risk for these birth defects is so serious that GlaxoSmithKline’s (the maker of Paxil) own publicly available literature states:

For women who intend to become pregnant or are in their first trimester of pregnancy, paroxetine should only be used after consideration of the other available treatment options.

In fact, in December 2005 Paxil received a Pregnancy category D rating, which is classification for medications that clearly have some health risks for the fetus.

Of course the key to avoiding the possibility of Paxil-related birth defects is to know about the risks in advance of becoming pregnant. But if don’t know what questions to ask your health care provider, or the information isn’t volunteered, you may learn about the risks too late or not at all.

Prior to 2005, many women were not aware of the risks, and both they and their children have paid a high price. Children like Manie, who was born with transposition of the great arteries—a heart defect requiring surgery. His mother is clearly so upset about it she’s started a blog for her son.  And several years ago she posted a video on YouTube.com about what happened. It certainly puts a human face on a problem that does not appear to have been suitably addressed.

Sadly, the irony in all of this is that if your baby suffered birth defects such as the ones associated with Paxil, it could be enough to put you into a permanent depression. That’s no joke.

There are affirmative things you can do after the fact. In lieu of starting a blog, many women have consulted lawyers to determine what their legal rights are. You can find out more about that on this site, as well as more information on Paxil birth defects.

 

Tags: paxil, Paxil birth defects

This was posted on Monday, July 20th, 2009 at 4:11 pm and is filed under Drugs/Medical, Personal Injury . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.