› $150,000,000 verdict in personal injury case
When pharmaceutical companies receive reports that suggest a medication may cause birth defects, they should immediately inform the public. However, too often companies are swayed by rising profits and the fear of bad press and may withhold or cover up this information to protect themselves. It is the public that stands to suffer.
Did drug company Pfizer cover up evidence that its antidepressant Zoloft causes birth defects? Susan and James Hodge think so. Susan took Zoloft during her pregnancy and then delivered a baby who died 18 hours after birth from anencephaly, a neural tube birth defect in which a large portion of the brain is missing. The Hodges are suing Pfizer claiming the world’s largest drug company covered up studies that documented the drug was associated with the fatal side effect.
Weighing the risks and benefits of using antidepressants during pregnancy is a tough decision. For Taylor Harris, a freelance writer, she knew since she started on Paxil as a young college graduate that she would have to wean off the drug before getting pregnant. Her doctor said simply, “You won’t be able to take Paxil during your pregnancy. But don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll have something else by then.”
The number of children in the United States enrolled in special education programs for autism spectrum disorders has increased from 22,664 in 2004 to 193,637 in 2005. Coincidentally, between 1996 and 2005, the number of Americans taking antidepressants nearly doubled to about 10 percent of the population. This relationship alone had some researchers wondering if there might be a link between the two different statistics. Now, a new study supports that assumption.
Amery Schultz thought he was rocking his newborn baby boy to sleep in his arms, but instead, the baby was taking his last breaths. “Imagine … watching your child die before your eyes, very traumatically,” Schultz told CBC News. “We still relieve it every day.”
Women who discontinue their antidepressants during pregnancy are at no greater risk for becoming depressed during pregnancy or after delivery than they would have been if they stayed on the medication throughout pregnancy, according to a new study published online and scheduled to appear in the November issue of the journal Epidemiology. The research offers a glimmer of good news to women who take antidepressants in light of new studies that show use of some types of antidepressants can cause serious birth defects if used during pregnancy.
Pregnant women who take certain types of antidepressants are at greater risk for preterm delivery or other birth complications, according to a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. The findings add more fuel to the argument that antidepressants not be prescribed to pregnant women and women of childbearing age unless absolutely necessary.
Another drug from a class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) is being called out by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because of serious injuries. Celexa, or citalopram hydrobromide, a drug used to treat major depression and off-label to treat various anxiety disorders, has been linked to potentially life threatening heart rhythms when used at higher doses. The FDA’s recent communication adds more concern about the safety of a type of drug that some argue is too heavily prescribed. Among the other concerns about SSRIs is their effect on unborn children when taken by pregnant women.
Fetuses exposed to a class of commonly prescribed antidepressants appear to have altered neurobehavorial development, according to a Dutch study published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.
“Has anyone had a healthy baby who took antidepressants while pregnant?”
It was the question posed recently on BabyCenter.com, a website resource for expectant mothers, new mothers, and women hoping to become pregnant in the near future. The question sparked numerous responses from women who were faced with making that decision. Some women commented that they needed the medication because they struggled with severe depression and anxiety. But they still worry about the effects the drug may have on their unborn babies.
