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One in five adults in the United States suffered from mental illness last year, and women were far more likely than men to have been diagnosed with mental, behavioral or emotional disorders, according to a newly released government study.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is giving health care professionals the green light to continue prescribing a class of antidepressants to pregnant women despite a 2006 warning that the drugs may cause newborns to be born with persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN). The agency’s earlier warning was based on a study that showed an increased risk for fetuses to develop the condition if they were exposed to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) after 20 weeks gestation. Since then, the agency says there have been conflicting studies evaluating this risk, making it unclear just how dangerous SSRIs are to developing fetuses.
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.”
Babies born to mothers who took a type of antidepressant during pregnancy are more likely to reach developmental milestones late, according to a Danish study published in the journal Pediatrics. The study raises more concerns about selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) and its affect on fetuses.
About $1 billion has been paid out by drug maker GlaxoSmithKline to resolve “failure to warn” lawsuits over its popular antidepressant Paxil. The lawsuits include cases of birth defects, suicides, and addiction allegedly caused by the medication.
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.
The prescribing information for the antidepressant Paxil (paroxetine HCL) has been updated to include a warning of fertility impairment in men. The warning includes Paxil tablets, oral solution and CR tablets. Clinical studies have shown that Paxil as well as other drugs in its class may affect sperm quality during treatment, which may affect fertility in some men.
The British Heart Foundation is calling for a quick and inexpensive test to be performed on all newborns to help detect potentially life threatening heart defects. The pulse oximeter is a device that clips onto the fingertip and measures the oxygen levels in the blood. Oximeters have been used in hospitals for more than 20 years. In the United States, the oximeter test is used on newborns in select states.
According to a recent study, nearly 75 percent of all antidepressants were prescribed to patients without documented psychiatric conditions by non-psychiatrists in 2007, raising a host of concerns including the potential for patients to suffer serious side effects from the drugs that could put their unborn children at risk.
