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Celexa Heart Defects in Newborns

Celexa is a brand name for citalopram, a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI). Celexa is used to treat patients with major depressive disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. However, some studies have found a link between Celexa and birth defects when pregnant women have used the antidepressant. These Celexa-related birth defects can be life-threatening. Lawsuits have been filed alleging patients were not properly warned about the risk of Celexa side effects.

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Celexa Studies

celexa heart birth defectsRecent studies indicate that Celexa can increase the risk of coronary birth defects when taken by pregnant women. One study, by researchers in the US and Denmark, compared 1,054 women who took SSRIs in the first three months of pregnancy with 150,000 others not on the drug. The study determined that women using the Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) in the first 12 weeks of gestation—when many may not know they are pregnant—have a 40 percent greater risk of their baby suffering malformations. Heart defects are 60 per cent more likely.

Celexa was developed by the Danish pharmaceutical firm, H. Lundbeck A/S and was introduced into the US market by Forest Laboratories and Parke-Davis in September 1998. It works by raising or restoring the patient's serotonin levels to relieve depression.

Celexa Lawsuits

Currently in Kentucky, the first Celexa birth defects lawsuit alleges that Forest Laboratories has engaged in "repeated and persistent fraud" by misrepresenting, concealing and otherwise failing to disclose information concerning the safety and effectiveness of Celexa in treating pregnant women.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff in the case was prescribed Celexa during her first trimester of pregnancy and as a result, her baby was born with serious heart birth defects. Her son, born in May, 2006, was diagnosed with Shone's Complex, a form of congenital heart disease that consists of multiple anatomic defects that lead to the obstruction of blood flow from the left side of the heart to the body.

The lawsuit alleges that the drug maker "failed to warn the public and the medical community about the special risks of developing birth defects in newborns, cardiovascular defects, heart related birth defects, or other serious problems associated with the use of Celexa."

In May 2005, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh estimated in the Journal of American Medical Association, that in any given year at least 80,000 pregnant women in US are prescribed SSRIs, including Celexa.

Celexa Heart Birth Defect Legal Help

If you took Celexa while pregnant, and your baby was born with heart defects, please click below to send your case to a lawyer who will review it at no cost.

Last updated on Oct-4-11

CELEXA ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS

Studies Suggest Celexa Birth Defects Link, but Results Conflict
Studies Suggest Celexa Birth Defects Link, but Results Conflict San Antonio, TX: When it comes to pregnancy, there is a great deal of debate over whether women should be concerned about things such as Celexa birth defects. The debate comes in part because unlike with alcohol or smoking during pregnancy—which have been consistently shown to cause harm to a fetus—studies on Celexa side effects and other medication side effects in infants have been inconsistent. Although some studies have shown that SSRIs such as Celexa are linked to birth defects, other studies have not found the same results, leaving women wondering what medications, if any, they can take while pregnant.

F [READ MORE]
Pregnant Women Weigh Risks and Benefits of Celexa
Pregnant Women Weigh Risks and Benefits of Celexa Dallas, TX: When it comes to weighing the risk of Celexa side effects against the risk of untreated depression during pregnancy, women could be forgiven for finding the information confusing. Although there is reportedly a risk of Celexa birth defects, including a link between Celexa and PPHN (persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn), there are also risks to having untreated depression. The result is that pregnant women may not know what they can, or should, do [READ MORE]

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