Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI)

Recent media coverage of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) has illustrated that women taking these drugs have an increased risk of delivering children with birth defects. Independent research from the medical community on SSRIs shows possible associations with specific usage and some defects. 

Some mothers are unfortunately delivering children with SSRI birth defects.  The following are among the potential defects which might develop in newborns of mothers who take SSRIs during pregnancy:

• Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS)
• Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF)
• Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA)
• Coarctation of the Aorta
• Heart Murmurs
• Omphalocele
• Spina Bifida
• Club Foot
• Ventrical Septal Defects (VSD)
• Atrial Septal Defects (ASD)
• Craniosynostosis

Complaints of SSRI birth defects have surfaced from women who took Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil, or Prozac while pregnant, since 2005. SSRIs are generally used as antidepressants.  A New England Journal of Medicine study found that women who took SSRIs during their third trimester were six times more likely to deliver babies born with primary pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) than those who didn't take SSRIs during their third trimester. PPHN is a lung disorder that restricts the arteries and leads to blood pressure in the pulmonary artery of the heart to rise beyond control. 

These symptoms may indicate PPHN:
• Heart Murmurs
• Low Blood Oxygen Levels
• Rapid Heart Rate
• Difficulty Breathing
• Bluish Skin
• Diagnosing PPHN

PPHN is a serious birth defect. Even after treatment, the baby can be susceptible to heart failure, brain hemorrhage, seizures, kidney failure, or organ damage - sometimes the condition is even fatal. Babies who survive PPHN sometimes have long-term breathing difficulties, seizures, developmental disorders and hearing loss.