SSRI Birth Defects: A Litany of Heartaches

Fairmount, INAs the controversy over Paxil birth defects and other anti-depressant related birth defects continues, so too does the heartache of parents whose children were born suffering from these defects. Parents like Jenny, Sheila, Angela, Theresa, and Jennifer, all of whom had children whose heart conditions are likely the result of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) exposure in the womb, also known as SSRI birth defects.

Jenny's son was born in 2002, with a list of heart defects that defies your worst nightmares. Her son was born with what is known as Shone's complex, which is essentially a series of 4 obstructive or potentially obstructive left-sided cardiac lesions. He had surgery to repair a coarctation--or narrowing--of the aorta when he was just 7 days old, followed by open heart surgery when he was nearly 4 months old for an ventricle septal defect, and atrial septal defect.

Additionally, when he was born his ductus arteriosus failed to close, which required medicine to close it. He also has a leak in his mitral valve that has to be checked regularly by his cardiologist at a children's hospital. Today, he suffers from developmental delays and goes for regular therapy, and has required special education. His doctor does not know his prognosis. Jenny wonders if the SNRI Wellbutrin could have caused her son's health problems.

Sheila took an SSRI during the first trimester of her pregnancy. Her son was born with tracheomalacia, pulmonary valve stenosis, hydrocephalus, cleft lip and palate, and his esophagus was unattached. To this day, years after his birth, he has numerous health problems.

Angela's child was born with heart, respiratory and abdominal problems and suffered withdrawal symptoms immediately after being born. Angela was taking Prozac during her pregnancy.

Like Jenny, Theresa was taking the SNRI Wellbutrin while pregnant. Her son was born with a heart defect. He was in the neonatal intensive care unit for 8 days after he was born. When Theresa and her husband took their son home he was on a heart monitor. Today, their son is on amiodarone, which is a medication used to control his heart rate.

And then there is Jennifer's story. She wonders if the Zoloft she took during her pregnancy resulted in the premature birth of her baby, and his subsequent breathing problems. She was advised not to breast feed her baby because of the drug in her system. After the fact, Jennifer's doctor told her that her child's problems were probably due to the Zoloft. But that's a bit too late to be finding out about the possibility of SSRI birth defects.

These women, and hundreds more like them, have had to endure the guilt associated with the possibility that they put their children's health at serious risk simply by taking their medicine. But are they to blame – should they feel guilty? How could they have known? They were likely doing as their doctors told them. So who is to blame? The only possible answer is the companies that make these drugs.

Antidepressants known as SSRIs include Paxil marketed by GlaxoSmithKline, Prozac by Eli Lilly, Zoloft by Pfizer, and Celexa and Lexapro sold by Forest Laboratories, along with various generic versions of the drugs. The closely-related class of SNRI antidepressants also carry birth defects warnings and include Wyeth's Effexor and Lilly's Cymbalta.

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it would be investigating SSRI birth defects. Let's hope the results come in time to save the next generation of mothers and babies.