Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

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.

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A Cleveland, Ohio, couple is suing the makers of the antidepressant Zoloft, alleging use of the drug during pregnancy caused their newborn baby to die shortly after birth from a serious birth defect of the brain and spinal cord. Susan and James Hodge filed the lawsuit against Pfizer and Cardinal Health in Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas, alleging the drug companies knew the antidepressant could cause fatal neural tube birth defects but covered up studies that documented the dangers.

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Christiane and Amery Schultz blame the death of their newborn son Matthew on the antidepressant Effexor, a type of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, or SSRI. Nicole Rawkins says the same drug killed her two-month-old son Greyson. Both ladies say they trusted their doctors and the drug’s safety labeling which indicated there were no known birth defects associated with Effexor, and that taking the drug during pregnancy should not harm their unborn children. But both infant boys died shortly after birth.

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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.

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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.

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A new study confirms that women who use selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy have an increased risk of delivering a baby with major congenital abnormalities, including cardiac defects. The study was published in the July issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

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