What Is A Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor? Does It Cause Birth Defects?
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) are antidepressants that may help with symptoms that some experience with depression. They work by affecting the neurotransmitters that are used to communicate between brain cells. They work by changing the levels of the brain chemicals.
SSRIs block the reuptake of the serotonin, a monoamine neurotransmitter, and help to balance the levels in the brain. This will help to boost mood, and therefore help to reduce the symptoms of moderate to severe depression.
Types of SSRIs
There are several different types of SSRIs:
- Celexa
- Lexapro
- Prozac, Prozac Weekly Sarafem
- Paxil, Paxil CR, Pexeva
- Zoloft
- Sumbyax
SSRIs can cause side effects for those that take them, all affecting people in different ways. Some of these side effects include dry mouth, diarrhea, a sense of nervousness or agitation, rash, weight gain, and several others. But, one of the worst things that these some of these SSRIs can cause are birth defects.
SSRIs and Birth Defects
There has been a link established between Zoloft, Prozac and other SSRIs and birth defects. These SSRIs contain a certain molecule that alters the levels of serotonin for the individual and can cause damage to an unborn baby during the first trimester of pregnancy.
Zoloft, one of the most prescribed drugs for depression, has been proven to cause heart defects, as well as cleft lip, pulmonary hypertension, as well as disorders such as autism.
Prozac, prescribed to millions of people suffering from the symptoms of depression, has been linked to heart defects. Transposition of the great arteries is one of these defects, which means that great arteries are reversed in their origins from the heart. The anatomy of the heart is the opposite of what it should be with the pulmonary artery connected to the left ventricle, and the aorta connected to the right.
Filing a Legal Claim
If you took the above SSRIs while pregnant and your child was born with serious birth defects, call our office. We believe that it is time for pharmaceutical companies to take responsibility and begin warning patients of the possible effects that the drugs may cause. There is no reason for unborn children to pay the price for pharmaceutical companies gain.
