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Effexor antidepressant use during pregnancy causes newborns to suffer from persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN), a fatal lung disorder. According to an Effexor birth defect lawsuit filed by a Texas woman, her daughter was born with PPHN and suffered from fatal respiratory distress after she took Effexor to overcome depression. Filed in a Pennsylvania eastern district federal court, the Effexor birth defect lawsuit has sought financial and punitive damages, accusing manufacturer Pfizer of withholding pregnancy-linked antidepressant side effects and misleading consumers about the drug safety.
The Effexor birth defect lawsuit claims that the mother unaware of any pregnancy side effects selected the drug to maintain her emotional state and keep off any injury to the child in her womb. However, exposure to Effexor resulted in hear-death condition for her daughter and doctors resurrected her after frantic efforts. The newborn remained hospitalized for weeks.
Had there been information about Effexor PPHN birth injury, the plaintiff would have not used the antidepressant during her pregnancy and thus securing her daughter against death-like condition, the Effexor birth defect lawsuit asserts.
What Is PPHN
Persistent pulmonary hypertension or PPHN is a respiratory disorder that prevents blood circulation from lungs to other body parts and thus deprives internal organs from oxygen. During the prenatal stage, a child receives oxygen supply through the neural tube. Once the baby is born, the lunges take over the function. However, Effexor birth defects lead to restricted functioning of pulmonary arteries limiting blood supply to the lungs. As a result, oxygen acquired by lungs cannot be carried to other body organs.
PPHN claims one death in every five instances. It causes life-threatening hypertension and paucity of oxygen in babies that may lead to multi-organ failure. The condition is also likely to result in seizures, kidney failure, and heart stroke unless treated immediately. Often newborns suffering from PPHN are kept on respiratory support and under supervision of neonatal intensive units for at least a week.
Effexor taken during pregnancy is likely to increase the risk of PPHN by six times, according to a study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Other Effexor Side Effects
Research studies and litigations have also linked Effexor to birth defects, such as
- Hypoplastic lungs
- Congenital heart defects
- Brain and skull deformities
- Underdeveloped vertebra and anus
- Cranial and abdominal malformations
- Neural tube defects
- Developmental delays
- Physical deformities in foot, lip, and other external body parts
The American Academy of Pediatrics has cautioned medical professionals against recommending Effexor antidepressant to pregnant women. The advisory issued in 2012, highlighted the potential risk of Effexor birth defects in babies born to mothers treated with the medication.
Effexor Lawsuit
Over 100 Effexor birth defect lawsuits have been filed in the federal court system claiming product liability against Pfizer. Parents claim that the drug side effects were never disclosed by the manufacturer prior to publication of research reports and this led to their children born with Effexor birth defects compromising their physical wellbeing and quality of life. The manufacturer withheld information on pregnancy-linked Effexor side effects found during clinical trials and post-marketing surveys and marketed the antidepressant as without any side effect for pregnant women, Effexor birth defect lawsuits allege.
If you or a loved one took Effexor and a child was born with birth defects,please fill out the form to the right or call us so that we can provide you with forms to evaluate your potential case immediately. You may also visit our Effexor Birth Defect Lawsuit Information Source.
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