Birth Defects Associated With Antidepressants

"Most of us go through life not knowing the challenges that other families face. For instance, having a daughter with several birth defects is mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausting. Society has judged our family because of her disabilities instead of sympathizing the challenges we face daily. It wasn't until we found Baum Hedlund Law Firm and Robinson, Calcagnie & Robinson that we realized our voice would be heard."

Since September 2005, information has been emerging that certain antidepressants  may cause birth defects, including cardiac (heart), pulmonary (lung), neural-tube defects (brain and spinal cord), craniosynostosis (skull defect),  infant omphalocele (abdominal wall defects), club foot (one or both feet turn downward and inward), and anal atresia (complete or partial closure of the anus), among others. We are currently investigating whether or not the following antidepressants also cause such birth defects:

• Celexa manufactured by Forest Labs (generic form is citalopram)
• Effexor manufactured by Wyeth (generic form is venlafaxine)
• Lexapro manufactured by Forest Labs (generic form is escitalopram)
• Pristiq manufactured by Wyeth (generic form is desvenlafaxine)
• Prozac manufactured by Eli Lilly (generic form is fluoxetine)
• Zoloft manufactured by Pfizer (generic form is sertraline hydrochloride)

Mothers who have taken antidepressants during their pregnancy because they thought it was safe have given birth to babies with birth defects ranging from cleft lip to life-threatening congenital heart defects and, in some cases, the babies have been required to get full heart transplants.

Our legal birth defects team consists of 10 attorneys from two prestigious law firms that have more experience handling antidepressant birth defect cases than any other firm in the country. Through our litigation and consultation with medical experts, we are establishing the link between antidepressants and the following congenital defects:

• Abdominal Birth Defects / Omphalocele
• Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Anal atresia (complete or partial closure of the anus)
• Cardiac (heart) defects
• Cleft lip and cleft palate
• Clubfoot (one or both feet turn downward and inward)
• Craniosynostosis (skull defect)
• Limb Defects
• Neural-tube defects (brain and spinal cord, spina bifida)
• PPHN (Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn)

Heart Birth Defects: The FDA issued a Public Health Advisory on December 8, 2005 based on U.S. and Swedish studies showing that exposure to certain antidepressants in the first trimester of pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of heart birth defects. Most of the cardiac defects observed in these studies were atrial or ventricular septal defects, conditions in which the wall between the right and left sides of the heart is not completely developed.

PPHN: Persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) is a serious and life-threatening lung condition that occurs soon after birth of the newborn. Babies with PPHN have high pressure in their lung blood vessels and are not able to get enough oxygen into their bloodstream. About 1 to 2 babies per 1000 babies born in the U.S. develop PPHN shortly after birth, and often they need intensive medical care.

On July 19, 2006, the FDA issued a Public Health Advisory for SSRIs, including Celexa (citalopram), Fluvoxamine, Lexapro (escitalopram), Prozac (fluoxetine), Symbyax (olanzapine and fluoxetine) and Zoloft (sertraline) based on a study that suggests there may be additional risks of SSRI medications during pregnancy. In this study, PPHN (Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn) was six times more common in babies whose mothers took an SSRI antidepressant after the 20th week of the pregnancy compared to babies whose mothers did not take an antidepressant.

Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman and Robinson Calcagnie Robinson Shapiro Davis, Inc. (RCRSD) are working together to prosecute the firms' antidepressant birth defects and PPHN cases.  Both law firms are recognized preeminent plaintiff firms in the forefront of antidepressant litigation. Our attorneys have successfully handled over 3,000 SSRI-antidepressant cases in the past two decades.

Both firms have many years of experience handling pharmaceutical product liability, mass tort litigation and consumer class actions against major drug companies.  They have been representing families in antidepressant birth defect cases since 2006. Anyone in need of an antidepressant birth defect lawyer should contact us for a free, no obligation consultation.

"The law firm has been professional and compassionate in every aspect of our case.  Whenever we had questions they provided us with an answer.  Although the law firm represents hundreds or thousands of individuals, I always felt the small town feeling. Where everyone knows your name and every detail of your life. If you find yourself reading this, because you're looking for representation, then look no further than Baum Hedlund Law Firm or Robinson, Calcagnie & Robinson and their team of professionals."   J.H.