Phoenix, AZAngela M. knows the pain of having a child with birth defects after taking an SSRI during pregnancy. Her son, Robbie, was born with multiple health issues and now faces years of various therapies to aid him in his development. Angela says she had no idea her son's health was put at risk by the use of Paxil.
"I was on Paxil for four years prior to getting pregnant with my son," Angela says. "At the time, they [doctors] said there were no birth defects caused by the Paxil and no issues with me staying on it. They put me up from 20 milligrams to 40 milligrams while I was pregnant.
"At about five months along they realized there were some problems when I had my ultrasound. I was sent to a specialist, who said I had too much amniotic fluid and my son had gastroschisis [where the skin around the bellybutton does not close, leaving an opening for the intestines and bowels to grow outside the body]. Three to four weeks after being diagnosed, I had preterm contractions. Within a month of that, I went into preterm labor. Doctors had to stop the labor and they held me out as long as they could. At 33 weeks I had my son.
"He was immediately taken to be ventilated because he had a blue face. He was ventilated for over 24 hours. He had surgery at two hours old [to repair the gastroschesis because his intestines and bowels had grown outside his body]. My son was transported to a children's hospital in the valley and stayed there for three weeks. He was really small—he was four pounds when he was born—and he stayed small. We had to give him specialized formula.
"At nine months he stopped developing. The state provides a nurse to come and check on your child. She came in when he was right at a year old and realized that he was far behind developmentally.
"In January, 2008, he was diagnosed with autism. He is now 35 months old. His speech is at the level of an 18 month old, his behavior is at the level of a 14 month old and his self-calming is at the level of a 12 month old. He has only 10 to 20 words that he can speak and they are only one word at a time, not phrases.
"He has had three surgeries now. He had bad acid reflux and had to have an Upper GI [involving having his throat telescoped] done. They had to put tubes in his ears to help them drain properly. He is in therapy three times a week with a behavior therapist, a developmental therapist and a speech therapist.
"At this time, they [doctors] are not saying that the Paxil is related to my son's gastroschisis. It does not surprise me that there were issues in that area with my son, they are just not confirming that it is because of Paxil.
"I would tell women to get off Paxil because they do not have to go through this. It comes down to if you want yourself to be stable or your child to be safe. I went off Paxil after my son was born and we found this stuff out about it. If I have another child I will not be on anything. It's just not worth it."
If you had a child born with birth defects and you took an SSRI during pregnancy, you may be eligible to join a lawsuit against the makers of the SSRIs. Contact a lawyer to discuss your options.