Zoloft may cause birth defects when a woman takes it during pregnancy. If you or a loved one has given birth to a child with a birth defect and the mother took Zoloft during pregnancy, you may be entitled to financial compensation.

Zoloft is prescribed for many purposes.  Sertraline is used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (bothersome thoughts that won’t go away and the need to perform certain actions over and over), panic attacks (sudden, unexpected attacks of extreme fear and worry about these attacks), posttraumatic stress disorder and others. Regardless of the reason of prescription, women who take this drug may experience a greater than average risk of infant child birth defects, including but not limited to heart defects, cleft palate, cleft lip, skeletal deformations and more. If your child experienced such a horrific side effect, please call our team of Zoloft lawyers today for a free case evaluation on how we can help.

Risks Associated With Zoloft

Zoloft Birth Injury Risks Outweigh Potential Benefits

Antidepressant Zoloft has been linked to potentially life-threatening birth defects in babies and a number of side effects, including suicidal tendency, in adults. The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor is produced by Pfizer and widely used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorders, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress. However, its side effects highlighted by independent researches, Zoloft lawsuits, and post-marketing studies outweigh the drug benefits. Zoloft side effects during pregnancy lead to malformations and lung, heart, cranial, and abdominal defects in newborns. Adults are likely to suffer from liver impairment, sexual dysfunction, neurological disorders, colitis, and withdrawal syndrome due to Zoloft side effects.

Zoloft Side Effect Studies

Pfizer introduced Zoloft in 1991 and the drug became the highest selling SSRI antidepressant in 2007. In the last five years, a number of studies have been published linking the drug to an array of adverse injuries in both babies born to mothers took the drug during pregnancy and adults. Zoloft side effects first came to public notice in 1999 after one of the shooters accused for the Columbine High School massacre was found to be on the drug. A spate of reports, Zoloft side effect complaints, independent studies, and post-marketing surveys, published between 2002 and 2006 forced the FDA to warn consumers about potential injuries associated with the drug.

A May 2012 report in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology claimed that Zoloft antidepressant could cause seizers and birth defects. According to the study carried on by the Tennessee Medicaid, the drug could lead to five-fold increase in the risk of life-threatening health problems in newborns if taken during or after the third trimester of pregnancy.

Another meta-analysis published in the Human Reproduction journal in October 2012 linked Zoloft side effects to pregnancy complications, high risk of miscarriage, and neonatal disorders. A review of more than 100 studies, the report highlighted neurobehavioral abnormalities and imperfections in heart, vertebra, skull, abdominal, and lungs of newly born babies. According to findings by scholars at Ontario Western University published in the Neurology medical journal, Zoloft and similar SSRIs can also cause serious brain hemorrhage.

According to the US National Academy of Science, children born to mothers who take Zoloft during pregnancy are at greater risk of missing developmental milestones. The American College of Cardiology has warned about potential risk of heart attack in adults caused by the antidepressant drug. Autism and congenital heart problems in children could be result of Zoloft side effects during pregnancy, according a Times Magazine report published in July 2011.

Zoloft Birth Defects in Newborn Babies

• Cardiovascular problems and congenital heart defect
•  Neural tube defect
• Spina bifida
• Neo behavioral syndrome
• Cranial defect and undeveloped skull
• Autism, pulmonary hypertension, heart valve disorders
• Internal and external oral defects
• Rectum, anus, and abdominal wall malformation

Zoloft Side Effects in Adults

• Serious brain hemorrhage
• Ejaculation difficulties
• Swelling of female sexual organs
• Suicidal behavior
• Atherosclerosis in men
• Neurological disorders, such as dizziness, insomnia, tremor, etc.
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Liver impairment and hepatitis symptoms
• Genitourinary disorders, such as decreased libido and sexual dysfunction
• Endocrine side effects, such as galactorrhea
• Hyponatremia
• Upper respiratory tract infection

Zoloft Side Effect Lawsuits

More than 400 Zoloft birth defect lawsuits have been filed in various state and federal courts across the United States. The plaintiffs, both parents and children born with birth defects, have sought to fix liability on Pfizer for manufacturing and marketing drugs that can lead to life-threatening side effects and withholding information about its safety concerns. Zoloft litigations focus on breach of consumer trust, negligence, and product liability on the part of the manufacturer. The court of Judge Cynthia M. Rufe of Pennsylvania east district has been selected for the consolidation of all Zoloft lawsuits under the MDL provisions.

The Problem

Our firm is offering free nationwide case evaluations to families whose children were diagnosed with medical conditions at birth or shortly therafter when the mother ingested Zoloft during pregnancy. Specific birth defects include cardiac malformations (ASD, VSD, Left Hypoplastic Heart Syndrome, coarctation of the aorta, Tricuspid or Pulmonary Atresia, Pulmonary Stenosis, transposition of the great vessels or any other heart defect), neural tube defect, craniosynostosis, cleft lip, cleft palate, skeletal deformations, and club foot.

About Zoloft

Our team of attorneys are currently reviewing potential Zoloft® lawsuits involving women who took these drugs during early pregnancy and whose children suffered adverse side effects, including heart defects and cleft lip/palate, among with others.

Manufactured by Pfizer, Inc., Zoloft^® is generically known as sertraline hydrochloride and is a drug prescribed to treat major depression in adults, as well as obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic and social anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder in both adults and children. Zoloft is classified as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drug, meaning that it selectively affects serotonin. Serotonin is one of many chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters, which pass messages between nerve cells, and has been linked in various studiesto an increased risk of birth defects.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initially placed SSRI antidepressants, including Zoloft, in its pregnancy Category C. This pregnancy category means that animal reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus, but there have not yet been adequate and well-controlled studies in humans. Pregnancy categories measure the teratogenic effects a drug has on a fetus. Teratogenic means that a drug or other substance is capable of interfering with the development of a fetus, so there could be serious risks to the unborn baby of a woman taking Zoloft while pregnant.

Birth defects or conditions that may be associated with the use of Zoloft include:

• Abdominal wall defects (infant omphalocele)
• Anal atresia (complete or partial closure of the anus)
• Cleft lip and cleft palate
• Clubfoot (one or both feet turn downward and inward)
• Heart (cardiac) defects
• Skull defect (craniosynostosis)

Zoloft was approved by the FDA and introduced into the market in 1991. Prior to 2002, the drug was approved only for use in adults ages 18 and over. In 2002, the FDA approved Zoloft to treat severe obsessive compulsive disorder in children ages six and older.

The FDA issued a Public Health Advisory on Dec. 8, 2005, warning that use of certain antidepressants during the first trimester of pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of birth defects. The advisory was based on U.S. and Swedish studies showing that exposure to certain antidepressants increased the risk of heart defects, including atrial and ventrical septal defects, conditions in which the wall between the right and left sides of the heart is not completely developed.

Citing a study by Christina Chambers of the University of California, San Diego, that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Health Canada issued a strong warning in March 2006 to pregnant women or women who were trying to become pregnant that antidepressant drugs like Zoloft could potentially pose serious risks to unborn or even nursing babies.

A 2007 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found a “significant association” between Zoloft and septal defects. A septal defect is a congenital defect that affects the structures of the heart. Septal defects can lead to the improper circulation of blood, making the heart work overtime. An atrial septal defect (ASD) is a hole in the wall between the heart’s two upper chambers. A hole in the wall between the two lower chambers is called a ventricular septal defect (VSD). Septal defects can be life threatening. According to the study, mothers who take Zoloft during pregnancy may double the risk of having an baby born with septal defects.

In another study published in the March 2010 issue of Pediatrics, researchers found a potential association between exposure to antidepressants in late pregnancy and a delay in normal motor development skills at six and 19 months of age. The same researchers, in a 2009 study published by British Medical Journal, found that women who were pregnant and taking certain antidepressants during the first trimester had an increased risk of giving birth to babies having various heart defects.

A recent study conducted by scientists at the University of Montreal and published online on May 31, 2010, in the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggests that women who take antidepressants like Zoloft during the first trimester of pregnancy are significantly more likely to suffer a miscarriage than women who do not take antidepressants.

The Archive of General Psychiatry published a report in July of 2011 linking SSRI antidepressants such as Zoloft to a potentially increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in babies born to mothers who took these drugs during the first trimester of pregnancy. Performed by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Northern California, the population-based, case-control study compared a group of 298 children having varying degrees of autism and their mothers to another group of 1,507 randomly selected children and their mothers. Nearly 70 children from each group were exposed to antidepressants in the same class as Zoloft, and the researchers found a possible connection between mothers who took these drugs within a year before delivery and an increased the risk of their babies being born with ASDs. The highest risk was found to be among those whose mothers took these drugs during the first trimester.

For a Free Case Evaluation:

TOLL FREE: 1-800-632-1404

EMAIL: click here

FILL OUT THIS FORM:

NOTE: Our team of attorneys will review potential cases for all fifty states, including Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Zoloft may cause birth defects when a woman takes it during pregnancy. If you or a loved one has given birth to a child with a birth defect and the mother took Zoloft during pregnancy, you may be entitled to financial compensation.

Zoloft is prescribed for many purposes.  Sertraline is used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (bothersome thoughts that won’t go away and the need to perform certain actions over and over), panic attacks (sudden, unexpected attacks of extreme fear and worry about these attacks), posttraumatic stress disorder and others. Regardless of the reason of prescription, women who take this drug may experience a greater than average risk of infant child birth defects, including but not limited to heart defects, cleft palate, cleft lip, skeletal deformations and more. If your child experienced such a horrific side effect, please call our team of Zoloft lawyers today for a free case evaluation on how we can help.

Lawsuits Filed Allege Profits Over Safety

Zoloft Birth Defect Injury Lawsuits Accuse Pfizer of Ignoring Side Effects for Profits

Pfizer faces more than 300 Zoloft birth defect injury lawsuits alleging that it ignored information on drug side effects and continued to market the SSRI antidepressant despite reports of serious birth defect injuries. The drug was introduced in 1991 and there was no independent scrutiny on its safety until 1999 when one of the two Columbine High School massacre preceptors was found to be on the drug for a long time. The FDA received a spate of reports between 2002 and 2006 alleging birth deformities, suicidal tendencies, and cardiovascular problems in newly born babies caused by Zoloft side effects.

In 2007, the New England Journal of Medicine published a research finding disclosing serious Zoloft side effects for pregnant women and their children. This led to filing of Zoloft birth defect injuries lawsuits and more studies highlighting life-threatening risks. The number of Zoloft birth defect lawsuits zoomed in 2011 and 2012 as a large number of users came forward to sue Pfizer following disclosure of drug adverse effects.

Plaintiffs of Zoloft Birth Defect Injuries Lawsuits

Zoloft birth defect injuries lawsuits filed against Pfizer mostly concentrate on seeking damages citing product liability, breach of trust, fraud, and negligence. In most of the lawsuits, parents or mothers of children born with deformities have been named as plaintiffs. They claim that the manufacturer failed to disclose safety issues associated with the drug leading to its consumption by expectant mothers and birth of children with congenital defects.

A number of Zoloft birth defect injuries lawsuits have also been filed by children born with birth defects due to the drug side effects. Their claim against Pfizer focuses on the point that failure of the drug maker to divulge the side effects, restricting its use by pregnant women, is responsible for the birth deformities of the plaintiffs. As more such children living with malformations are turning adults, the number of birth defect lawsuits is bound to rise in the coming years.

Zoloft Birth Defect Injury Lawsuits

In October 2011, an Ohio couple filed a birth defect lawsuit in a Cuyahoga county court blaming Pfizer and Ohio-based pharmaceutical supplier Cardinal Health for the death of their newly born son. The mother took Zoloft during pregnancy and her son was born with a neural tube defect, also called anencephaly. The newly born was without most part of his brain. The Zoloft lawsuit claimed there was no pregnancy-related anencephaly warning from the manufacturer and this resulted in the deformities and death of the child. A similar lawsuit filed in a New York court by a couple from Missouri within days of the former claimed that Zoloft side defects led to death of their newly born baby with heart defects.

The parents of eight children with congenital birth defects filed a lawsuit in the St. Clair County Circuit Court in November 2011 seeking damages from Pfizer over Zoloft birth defect injuries. They claimed that use of Zoloft by mothers during pregnancy was responsible for deformities in children and the drug maker was responsible for it as the drug contained no warning on birth defects in newly born babies.

A 20-year-old woman born with Zoloft birth defect injuries filed lawsuits in December 2011 alleging that though Pfizer was aware of the drug side effects, it did not inform consumers about the same. The lawsuit was filed in a St. Clair County by Angela Rife. She has a cleft palate and cleft lip attributed to Zoloft use by her mother during pregnancy. A week later (January 6th, 2012), another 20-year-man from Texas filed a similar birth defect injury lawsuit in an Eastern Missouri federal court. He had congenital club feet that required him to undergo multiple surgeries.

In February 2012, a group of mothers initiated a Zoloft class action against Pfizer holding the antidepressant drug responsible for birth deformities in children born to them. The lawsuit alleged that the manufacturer did not carry out adequate research to establish safety of the drug and it misled the consumers on Zoloft birth defect injuries.

A 21 year-old woman from Massachusetts sued Pfizer in June 2012 blaming it for her atrial septal birth defects. The plaintiff claimed that her mother took Zoloft during pregnancy and its side effects caused congenital heart defect in her. According to the lawsuit, Pfizer failed to adequately inform the plaintiff’s mother or doctor about Zoloft birth defect injury side effects.

In September 2012, a federal lawsuit filed by a Pennsylvania couple complained that Zoloft side effects resulted in the birth of their daughter with heart defects and clubfeet. The mother used the antidepressant during pregnancy, being unaware of its side effects, which resulted in malformations in the newly born child.

MDL Consolidation

About 245 federal Zoloft birth defect lawsuits have been filed across the United States. Over 70 lawsuits are also awaiting trial in different state courts. In April 2012, the federal MDL panel centralized all Zoloft lawsuits at the court of Pennsylvania Eastern District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe. As the number of lawsuits continues to increase, the judge outlined Preliminary Discovery Plan and the procedure to be followed in the deciding the trial dates on October 17.

The Problem

Our firm is offering free nationwide case evaluations to families whose children were diagnosed with medical conditions at birth or shortly therafter when the mother ingested Zoloft during pregnancy. Specific birth defects include cardiac malformations (ASD, VSD, Left Hypoplastic Heart Syndrome, coarctation of the aorta, Tricuspid or Pulmonary Atresia, Pulmonary Stenosis, transposition of the great vessels or any other heart defect), neural tube defect, craniosynostosis, cleft lip, cleft palate, skeletal deformations, and club foot.

About Zoloft

Our team of attorneys are currently reviewing potential Zoloft® lawsuits involving women who took these drugs during early pregnancy and whose children suffered adverse side effects, including heart defects and cleft lip/palate, among with others.

Manufactured by Pfizer, Inc., Zoloft^® is generically known as sertraline hydrochloride and is a drug prescribed to treat major depression in adults, as well as obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic and social anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder in both adults and children. Zoloft is classified as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drug, meaning that it selectively affects serotonin. Serotonin is one of many chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters, which pass messages between nerve cells, and has been linked in various studiesto an increased risk of birth defects.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initially placed SSRI antidepressants, including Zoloft, in its pregnancy Category C. This pregnancy category means that animal reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus, but there have not yet been adequate and well-controlled studies in humans. Pregnancy categories measure the teratogenic effects a drug has on a fetus. Teratogenic means that a drug or other substance is capable of interfering with the development of a fetus, so there could be serious risks to the unborn baby of a woman taking Zoloft while pregnant.

Birth defects or conditions that may be associated with the use of Zoloft include:

• Abdominal wall defects (infant omphalocele)
• Anal atresia (complete or partial closure of the anus)
• Cleft lip and cleft palate
• Clubfoot (one or both feet turn downward and inward)
• Heart (cardiac) defects
• Skull defect (craniosynostosis)

Zoloft was approved by the FDA and introduced into the market in 1991. Prior to 2002, the drug was approved only for use in adults ages 18 and over. In 2002, the FDA approved Zoloft to treat severe obsessive compulsive disorder in children ages six and older.

The FDA issued a Public Health Advisory on Dec. 8, 2005, warning that use of certain antidepressants during the first trimester of pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of birth defects. The advisory was based on U.S. and Swedish studies showing that exposure to certain antidepressants increased the risk of heart defects, including atrial and ventrical septal defects, conditions in which the wall between the right and left sides of the heart is not completely developed.

Citing a study by Christina Chambers of the University of California, San Diego, that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Health Canada issued a strong warning in March 2006 to pregnant women or women who were trying to become pregnant that antidepressant drugs like Zoloft could potentially pose serious risks to unborn or even nursing babies.

A 2007 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found a “significant association” between Zoloft and septal defects. A septal defect is a congenital defect that affects the structures of the heart. Septal defects can lead to the improper circulation of blood, making the heart work overtime. An atrial septal defect (ASD) is a hole in the wall between the heart’s two upper chambers. A hole in the wall between the two lower chambers is called a ventricular septal defect (VSD). Septal defects can be life threatening. According to the study, mothers who take Zoloft during pregnancy may double the risk of having an baby born with septal defects.

In another study published in the March 2010 issue of Pediatrics, researchers found a potential association between exposure to antidepressants in late pregnancy and a delay in normal motor development skills at six and 19 months of age. The same researchers, in a 2009 study published by British Medical Journal, found that women who were pregnant and taking certain antidepressants during the first trimester had an increased risk of giving birth to babies having various heart defects.

A recent study conducted by scientists at the University of Montreal and published online on May 31, 2010, in the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggests that women who take antidepressants like Zoloft during the first trimester of pregnancy are significantly more likely to suffer a miscarriage than women who do not take antidepressants.

The Archive of General Psychiatry published a report in July of 2011 linking SSRI antidepressants such as Zoloft to a potentially increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in babies born to mothers who took these drugs during the first trimester of pregnancy. Performed by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Northern California, the population-based, case-control study compared a group of 298 children having varying degrees of autism and their mothers to another group of 1,507 randomly selected children and their mothers. Nearly 70 children from each group were exposed to antidepressants in the same class as Zoloft, and the researchers found a possible connection between mothers who took these drugs within a year before delivery and an increased the risk of their babies being born with ASDs. The highest risk was found to be among those whose mothers took these drugs during the first trimester.

For a Free Case Evaluation:

TOLL FREE: 1-800-632-1404

EMAIL: click here

FILL OUT THIS FORM:

NOTE: Our team of attorneys will review potential cases for all fifty states, including Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Zoloft may cause birth defects when a woman takes it during pregnancy. If you or a loved one has given birth to a child with a birth defect and the mother took Zoloft during pregnancy, you may be entitled to financial compensation.

Zoloft is prescribed for many purposes.  Sertraline is used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (bothersome thoughts that won’t go away and the need to perform certain actions over and over), panic attacks (sudden, unexpected attacks of extreme fear and worry about these attacks), posttraumatic stress disorder and others. Regardless of the reason of prescription, women who take this drug may experience a greater than average risk of infant child birth defects, including but not limited to heart defects, cleft palate, cleft lip, skeletal deformations and more. If your child experienced such a horrific side effect, please call our team of Zoloft lawyers today for a free case evaluation on how we can help.

Risks Associated With Zoloft

Research Studies Highlight Risks Associated With Zoloft

Pfizer introduced Zoloft, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), in 1991 for people suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorders, post-traumatic stress, and major depressive disorders. The anti-depressant, one of the best sold drugs until 2007, has been in thick of controversy following reports linking it to birth defects in newly born babies and other side effects. The FDA has also issued warnings informing consumers of the potential risk of children born with birth defects from mother administered Zoloft during pregnancy.

Independent Studies on Zoloft Side Effects

US Research Studies

Children born to women administered with Zoloft and other antidepressants are likely to suffer from seizers and premature birth problems, according to a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology in May 2012. The Tennessee Medicaid study involving 228,876 pregnant women warned that SSRIs taken in the third trimester led to five-fold increase in the risk of seizures in newly born babies.

According to a new research published in the Human Reproduction journal in October 2012, antidepressants, such as Zoloft, cause potential health risk in women facing pregnancy problems and their unborn babies. The report based on reviewing of over 100 comprehensive studies found that these SSRIs did not offer any improved pregnancy outcome, but impacted the women in the form of higher rate of miscarriage, pregnancy complications, and neonatal issues. Newly born babies also suffer from neurobehavioral abnormalities, persistent pulmonary hypertension, congenital defects in vertebra, heart, abdominal, lungs, and skull due to the side effects caused by Zoloft and similar SSRIs, according to the study.

The US National Academy of Science has warned that use of Zoloft-class antidepressant by pregnant women impacts language development of their children. According to its research details made public in October 2012, exposure to SSRI drugs during the pre-natal stage delay infant’s developmental milestones due to.

The British Medical Journal reported in September 2009 that babies born to mothers administered with Zoloft during pregnancy had enhanced risk of congenital heart problems. A report in published in Times Magazine in July 2011 expressed concern that autism in new born babies could be a side effect of Zoloft taken by pregnant mothers. The report was based on findings of Kaiser Permanente researchers who documented 298 children with autism spectrum disorder born to women who used SSRIs during the first trimester.

In April 2011, a research finding presented at the American College of Cardiology’s annual meeting linked Zoloft to heart attack in men. The drug, according to the study funded by the National Institutes of Health, increases the risk atherosclerosis in the carotid artery responsible for blood supply to neck and brain. This leads to deposition of fat inside artery walls, which can enhance the chance of heart attacks.

International Research Studies

A Swedish research report published in the British Medical Journal on January 16th, 2012, claimed to have found a link between persistent pulmonary hypertension in newly born children and SSRI antidepressants, including Zoloft. According to the report, when pregnant women are administered with Zoloft and other antidepressant drugs, the fetus is exposed to sertraline and this increase the risk of PPHN. Babies born with this rare disorder suffer from breathing problems, brain damage, multiple organ failure, and death.

A study published in March 2012 edition of the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology reported that Zoloft and similar SSRI drugs contributed to hypertension in pregnant women. The research carried on by Canadian scholars interviewed more than 1,200 women named in the Quebec Pregnancy Registry. All these women took SSRI anti-depressants and were diagnosed with pregnancy-induced high blood pressure.

In April 2012, a multinational study published in the Frontiers in Evolutionary Psychology journal questioned efficacy of SSRIs. The study claimed that side effects of these antidepressants outweigh their benefits. It presented a list of antidepressant side effects, such as brain neuron death, cognitive disorder, dementia, gastrointestinal problems, stroke, fractures, infertility, birth defects, depression relapse, suicidal tendency, tongue dyskinesia, etc.

Two research studies made public by Danish scholars at Aarhus University in October 2009 and 2010 have highlighted developmental delays and withdrawal syndrome in babies born to mothers prescribed with Zoloft during pregnancy.

Another Canadian research finding reported in the Neurology medical journal in October 2012 claimed that Zoloft, Prozac, and Paxila, three popular antidepressants, could cause life-threatening brain hemorrhage. The report was based on 16 controlled observational studies at the Western University of Ontario.

The Problem

Our firm is offering free nationwide case evaluations to families whose children were diagnosed with medical conditions at birth or shortly therafter when the mother ingested Zoloft during pregnancy. Specific birth defects include cardiac malformations (ASD, VSD, Left Hypoplastic Heart Syndrome, coarctation of the aorta, Tricuspid or Pulmonary Atresia, Pulmonary Stenosis, transposition of the great vessels or any other heart defect), neural tube defect, craniosynostosis, cleft lip, cleft palate, skeletal deformations, and club foot.

About Zoloft

Our team of attorneys are currently reviewing potential Zoloft® lawsuits involving women who took these drugs during early pregnancy and whose children suffered adverse side effects, including heart defects and cleft lip/palate, among with others.

Manufactured by Pfizer, Inc., Zoloft^® is generically known as sertraline hydrochloride and is a drug prescribed to treat major depression in adults, as well as obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic and social anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder in both adults and children. Zoloft is classified as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drug, meaning that it selectively affects serotonin. Serotonin is one of many chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters, which pass messages between nerve cells, and has been linked in various studiesto an increased risk of birth defects.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initially placed SSRI antidepressants, including Zoloft, in its pregnancy Category C. This pregnancy category means that animal reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus, but there have not yet been adequate and well-controlled studies in humans. Pregnancy categories measure the teratogenic effects a drug has on a fetus. Teratogenic means that a drug or other substance is capable of interfering with the development of a fetus, so there could be serious risks to the unborn baby of a woman taking Zoloft while pregnant.

Birth defects or conditions that may be associated with the use of Zoloft include:

• Abdominal wall defects (infant omphalocele)
• Anal atresia (complete or partial closure of the anus)
• Cleft lip and cleft palate
• Clubfoot (one or both feet turn downward and inward)
• Heart (cardiac) defects
• Skull defect (craniosynostosis)

Zoloft was approved by the FDA and introduced into the market in 1991. Prior to 2002, the drug was approved only for use in adults ages 18 and over. In 2002, the FDA approved Zoloft to treat severe obsessive compulsive disorder in children ages six and older.

The FDA issued a Public Health Advisory on Dec. 8, 2005, warning that use of certain antidepressants during the first trimester of pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of birth defects. The advisory was based on U.S. and Swedish studies showing that exposure to certain antidepressants increased the risk of heart defects, including atrial and ventrical septal defects, conditions in which the wall between the right and left sides of the heart is not completely developed.

Citing a study by Christina Chambers of the University of California, San Diego, that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Health Canada issued a strong warning in March 2006 to pregnant women or women who were trying to become pregnant that antidepressant drugs like Zoloft could potentially pose serious risks to unborn or even nursing babies.

A 2007 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found a “significant association” between Zoloft and septal defects. A septal defect is a congenital defect that affects the structures of the heart. Septal defects can lead to the improper circulation of blood, making the heart work overtime. An atrial septal defect (ASD) is a hole in the wall between the heart’s two upper chambers. A hole in the wall between the two lower chambers is called a ventricular septal defect (VSD). Septal defects can be life threatening. According to the study, mothers who take Zoloft during pregnancy may double the risk of having an baby born with septal defects.

In another study published in the March 2010 issue of Pediatrics, researchers found a potential association between exposure to antidepressants in late pregnancy and a delay in normal motor development skills at six and 19 months of age. The same researchers, in a 2009 study published by British Medical Journal, found that women who were pregnant and taking certain antidepressants during the first trimester had an increased risk of giving birth to babies having various heart defects.

A recent study conducted by scientists at the University of Montreal and published online on May 31, 2010, in the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggests that women who take antidepressants like Zoloft during the first trimester of pregnancy are significantly more likely to suffer a miscarriage than women who do not take antidepressants.

The Archive of General Psychiatry published a report in July of 2011 linking SSRI antidepressants such as Zoloft to a potentially increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in babies born to mothers who took these drugs during the first trimester of pregnancy. Performed by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Northern California, the population-based, case-control study compared a group of 298 children having varying degrees of autism and their mothers to another group of 1,507 randomly selected children and their mothers. Nearly 70 children from each group were exposed to antidepressants in the same class as Zoloft, and the researchers found a possible connection between mothers who took these drugs within a year before delivery and an increased the risk of their babies being born with ASDs. The highest risk was found to be among those whose mothers took these drugs during the first trimester.

For a Free Case Evaluation:

TOLL FREE: 1-800-632-1404

EMAIL: click here

FILL OUT THIS FORM:

NOTE: Our team of attorneys will review potential cases for all fifty states, including Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Zoloft may cause birth defects when a woman takes it during pregnancy. If you or a loved one has given birth to a child with a birth defect and the mother took Zoloft during pregnancy, you may be entitled to financial compensation.

Zoloft is prescribed for many purposes.  Sertraline is used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (bothersome thoughts that won’t go away and the need to perform certain actions over and over), panic attacks (sudden, unexpected attacks of extreme fear and worry about these attacks), posttraumatic stress disorder and others. Regardless of the reason of prescription, women who take this drug may experience a greater than average risk of infant child birth defects, including but not limited to heart defects, cleft palate, cleft lip, skeletal deformations and more. If your child experienced such a horrific side effect, please call our team of Zoloft lawyers today for a free case evaluation on how we can help.

Zoloft May Cause Injuries in Infants/Children

Zoloft Side Effects and Birth Defects in Children

More than 300 Zoloft birth defect lawsuits, including a class action, have been filed against Pfizer in various state and federal courts. Categorized as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), Zoloft was introduced in 1991 to treat anxiety, panic, post-traumatic stress, premenstrual dysphoric, social phobia, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. In 2007, the drug became the highest sold anti- depressant in the United States. However, research reports published in the recent years have highlighted that Zoloft side effects in pregnant mothers led to birth of children with life-threatening problems and deformities. Heart, lung, and cranial defects, abdominal problems, spina bifida, and a number of other malformations are common in children born to mothers prescribed with Zoloft during their pregnancy.

Zoloft Birth Defects

The FDA issued a public health advisory in July 2006 highlighting the potential association between Zoloft side effects and pulmonary hypertension in newborns. A number of reports published between 2002 and 2006 indicted Zoloft-class antidepressants for premature births, deformities in newly born, low APGAR scores, and other problems in pregnant women. The federal regulator updated its warning four months later forbidding administration of Zoloft-like SSRI antidepressants to women in 20th or more weeks of their pregnancy.

According to the FDA, the drugs can increase the risk of pulmonary hypertension in newborns by six times if administered to pregnant women. This was also confirmed in a January 2012 study published by Swedish researchers. The British Medical Journal published a study on Zoloft in September 2009 that warned of cardiovascular problems in babies born to mothers taking Zoloft during pregnancy. Two Danish studies made public in October 2009 and 2010 showed that Zoloft side effects during pregnancy caused withdrawal-like syndrome and delayed development in newborns. In July 2011, the Times magazine reported that children with autism were born to mothers who took Zoloft antidepressant drug during pregnancy.

The most reported birth defects caused by Zoloft side effects include,

• Heart defects and cardiovascular disorders, such as pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary stenosis, tetralogy of fallot, pulmonary atresia, abnormal gap between the right and left atria, congenital septal defect, heart valve disorders, and hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
• Arterial defects, including transposition of great arteries and compression of the aorta
• Neural tube defects
• Autism
• Skull defects, craniosynostosis
• Lip, oral, and palate cleft
• Rectum, anus, and abdominal wall malformation
• Spina bifida
• New born behavioral syndrome

Other Zoloft Side Effects

According to a new study published in the medical journal Neurology in October 2012, administration of Zoloft and similar SSRI antidepressants may result in the brain hemorrhage. Though the risk is low, it can cause problems for people prone to brain hemorrhage due to other drug side effects. Sertraline, the generic name of Zoloft, is found to have sexual side effects. The drug can cause arousal disorder and inhibit the ability to achieve orgasm. A study found as many as 67% of men experiencing ejaculation difficulties and about 40 % orgasm dysfunction during a Zoloft sexual side effect study. Women had inadequate lubrication and swelling of sexual organs.

The FDA mandates all antidepressants, including Zoloft, to carry a black box warning of suicidal tendency side effects in people aged less than 25 years. Abrupt discontinuation of Zoloft causes withdrawal syndrome in users. According to a research conducted by Emory University scholars and presented at the New Orleans meet of the American College of Cardiology in 2011, Zoloft-like antidepressants cause atherosclerosis in men, an important reason for increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

The Problem

Our firm is offering free nationwide case evaluations to families whose children were diagnosed with medical conditions at birth or shortly therafter when the mother ingested Zoloft during pregnancy. Specific birth defects include cardiac malformations (ASD, VSD, Left Hypoplastic Heart Syndrome, coarctation of the aorta, Tricuspid or Pulmonary Atresia, Pulmonary Stenosis, transposition of the great vessels or any other heart defect), neural tube defect, craniosynostosis, cleft lip, cleft palate, skeletal deformations, and club foot.

About Zoloft

Our team of attorneys are currently reviewing potential Zoloft® lawsuits involving women who took these drugs during early pregnancy and whose children suffered adverse side effects, including heart defects and cleft lip/palate, among with others.

Manufactured by Pfizer, Inc., Zoloft^® is generically known as sertraline hydrochloride and is a drug prescribed to treat major depression in adults, as well as obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic and social anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder in both adults and children. Zoloft is classified as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drug, meaning that it selectively affects serotonin. Serotonin is one of many chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters, which pass messages between nerve cells, and has been linked in various studiesto an increased risk of birth defects.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initially placed SSRI antidepressants, including Zoloft, in its pregnancy Category C. This pregnancy category means that animal reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus, but there have not yet been adequate and well-controlled studies in humans. Pregnancy categories measure the teratogenic effects a drug has on a fetus. Teratogenic means that a drug or other substance is capable of interfering with the development of a fetus, so there could be serious risks to the unborn baby of a woman taking Zoloft while pregnant.

Birth defects or conditions that may be associated with the use of Zoloft include:

• Abdominal wall defects (infant omphalocele)
• Anal atresia (complete or partial closure of the anus)
• Cleft lip and cleft palate
• Clubfoot (one or both feet turn downward and inward)
• Heart (cardiac) defects
• Skull defect (craniosynostosis)

Zoloft was approved by the FDA and introduced into the market in 1991. Prior to 2002, the drug was approved only for use in adults ages 18 and over. In 2002, the FDA approved Zoloft to treat severe obsessive compulsive disorder in children ages six and older.

The FDA issued a Public Health Advisory on Dec. 8, 2005, warning that use of certain antidepressants during the first trimester of pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of birth defects. The advisory was based on U.S. and Swedish studies showing that exposure to certain antidepressants increased the risk of heart defects, including atrial and ventrical septal defects, conditions in which the wall between the right and left sides of the heart is not completely developed.

Citing a study by Christina Chambers of the University of California, San Diego, that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Health Canada issued a strong warning in March 2006 to pregnant women or women who were trying to become pregnant that antidepressant drugs like Zoloft could potentially pose serious risks to unborn or even nursing babies.

A 2007 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found a “significant association” between Zoloft and septal defects. A septal defect is a congenital defect that affects the structures of the heart. Septal defects can lead to the improper circulation of blood, making the heart work overtime. An atrial septal defect (ASD) is a hole in the wall between the heart’s two upper chambers. A hole in the wall between the two lower chambers is called a ventricular septal defect (VSD). Septal defects can be life threatening. According to the study, mothers who take Zoloft during pregnancy may double the risk of having an baby born with septal defects.

In another study published in the March 2010 issue of Pediatrics, researchers found a potential association between exposure to antidepressants in late pregnancy and a delay in normal motor development skills at six and 19 months of age. The same researchers, in a 2009 study published by British Medical Journal, found that women who were pregnant and taking certain antidepressants during the first trimester had an increased risk of giving birth to babies having various heart defects.

A recent study conducted by scientists at the University of Montreal and published online on May 31, 2010, in the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggests that women who take antidepressants like Zoloft during the first trimester of pregnancy are significantly more likely to suffer a miscarriage than women who do not take antidepressants.

The Archive of General Psychiatry published a report in July of 2011 linking SSRI antidepressants such as Zoloft to a potentially increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in babies born to mothers who took these drugs during the first trimester of pregnancy. Performed by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Northern California, the population-based, case-control study compared a group of 298 children having varying degrees of autism and their mothers to another group of 1,507 randomly selected children and their mothers. Nearly 70 children from each group were exposed to antidepressants in the same class as Zoloft, and the researchers found a possible connection between mothers who took these drugs within a year before delivery and an increased the risk of their babies being born with ASDs. The highest risk was found to be among those whose mothers took these drugs during the first trimester.

For a Free Case Evaluation:

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EMAIL: click here

FILL OUT THIS FORM:

NOTE: Our team of attorneys will review potential cases for all fifty states, including Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin and Wyoming.

FREE CASE EVALUATIONS – FILL OUT FORM TO RIGHT OR CALL TOLL FREE: 1-800-632-1404

Wellbutrin is commonly prescribed to women who are or may become pregnant for several reasons, including as an antidepressant SSRI aid and as a smoking cessation pill. Regardless of the reason, women who take this drug may experience a greater than average risk of infant child birth defects, including but not limited to heart defects, cleft palate, cleft lip, skeletal deformations and more. If your child experienced such a horrific side effect, please call us today for a free case evaluation on how we can help.

Wellbutrin Information

Our team of Wellbutrin lawyers would like to report on some general information about Wellbutrin, and if you or your loved one has given birth to a child with a birth defect, including a heart defect, and you took Wellbutrin during pregnancy, we would be honored to discuss your situation. One piece of information involves a prior study of another GSK drug: Paxil.

In 2001, the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry stated that Paxil was “generally well tolerated and effective for major depression in adolescents.” The study has since been discredited by other scientists who found the outcomes had been combined, only selective results were reported, and ghostwriters authored the paper.

The paper, Study 329, has never been retracted, however, and its authors did not face sanctions. The universities they represented did not even issue a public acknowledgement of the danger their academics created when they published a fabricated study. Furthermore, the lead author of the study, Martin Keller, was allowed to quietly retire from his academic position at Brown University at the end of June and maintain the title of emeritus professor of psychiatry and human behavior.

It’s expected that the university believes the issue will be abandoned over time, but health care professionals and researchers are not about to let that happen. Dr. Jon Jureidini and Leemon McHenry, who have written papers debunking Study 329, continue to ask Brown University’s current president, Christine H. Paxson, to take action against Keller.

Even Dr. Roy Poses, a clinical associate professor of medicine at Brown, criticizes his own administration for trying to bury the issue. “The appearance of continued stonewalling, now going on for years, can easily be interpreted to imply that the institution has something really big and bad to hide,” he wrote on his blog.

If you would like more information in Wellbutrin claims for birth defects, please continue reading.

The Problem

Our firm is offering free nationwide case evaluations to families whose children were diagnosed with medical conditions at birth or shortly therafter when the mother ingested Wellbutrin or Bupropion during pregnancy. Specific birth defects include cardiac malformations (ASD, VSD, Left Hypoplastic Heart Syndrome, coarctation of the aorta, Tricuspid or Pulmonary Atresia, Pulmonary Stenosis, transposition of the great vessels or any other heart defect), neural tube defect, craniosynostosis, cleft lip, cleft palate, skeletal deformations, and club foot.

About Wellbutrin

Wellbutrin is an antidepressant drug prescribed to treat major depressive disorder, also called major depression and clinical depression, and seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression involving adverse side effects that occur each year during the same season. First approved by the FDA in 1985, bupropion hydrochloride was available for several years only under the brand name Wellbutrin. In 1996, the FDA approved a sustained-release tablet of this drug called Wellbutrin SR and, in 2003, approved an extended-release tablet known as Wellbutrin XL.

Wellbutrin carries a Pregnancy Category C classification, meaning that animal reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus but that no adequate or well-controlled studies in humans have been performed.

Wellbutrin has been linked to congenital heart defects. Congenital heart defects affect approximately 40,000 babies each year, and one of the primary known causes of such birth defects is the ingestion of teratogenic drugs during pregnancy. A teratogen is a drug or other substance capable of interfering with the development of a fetus that can ultimately result in serious birth defects.

Alleged Birth Defects

Anti-depressants have become a troubling subject when it comes to teenagers; however, some mothers are unfortunately giving birth to children with birth defects that may be connected to taking drugs called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibiters (SSRIs) during early pregnancy.

SSRI birth defects, which include heart problems, spina bifida, club foot, cleft pallet, and others, are causing concerning and leading to litigation filed against the makers of these dangerous drugs.

Complaints of SSRI birth defects have been identified since at least 2005 from women who ingested during early pregnancy, Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil, Prozac, and Wellbutrin while pregnant. SSRI drugs are generally used as anti-depressants or to stop smoking.

A New England Journal of Medicine study found that women who took SSRIs during third trimester were six times more likely to deliver babies born with primary pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) than those who did not take the SSRIs during their third trimester.  PPHN is a lung disorder that restricts the arteries and causes blood pressure in the pulmonary artery of the heart to rise beyond control.

Symptoms of PPHN may include the following:  heart murmurs, rapid heart rate, bluish skin, low blood oxygen levels, difficulty breathing diagnosing PPHN.

PPHN is a serious birth defect.  Even after treatment, infants can be susceptible to heart failure, brain hemorrhage, seizures, kidney failure or organ damage.  Some of these birth defects can be present throughout life or even fatal.  Some infants who happen to survive PPHN nevertheless have long term breathing difficulties, seizures, developmental delays and hearing loss.

Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil, Prozac, Wellbutrin and Zyban are anti-depressants or smoking sensation drugs that have fallen under close scrutiny for use by expectant mothers.  As consumers of prescriptions drugs, our society assumes that pharmaceutical companies test for the safety as well as the effectiveness of prescription medication.  Unfortunately, there are and have been several drugs on the market that can cause injury, illness or even death.  In these cases, the negligence of a pharmaceutical company may warrant a personal injury lawsuit.

Such a condition may cause surgery, lifetime defects or death.

Getting Legal Help

If your child is born with a birth defect and you had been prescribed Wellbutrin during pregnancy, you may have a claim for compensation. You may be eligible for compensation for the medical expenses for the treatment of your child and also compensation for your mental sufferings.

If you or a loved one took Wellbutrin during early pregnancy and had a child born with a birth defect, this side effect may be associated with Wellbutrin. Members of our firm are currently reviewing potential Wellbutrin lawsuits. If you have a question or have suffered serious side effects, a Wellbutrin lawyer can be reached by email or by calling TOLL FREE 1-800-632-1404.

Members of our firm are attorneys currently representing clients who have taken several prescription drugs and claim injuries associated with those drugs, includingTopamax®, Wellbutrin®, Fosamax®, and Actos®. They and members of the firm also represent clients across the globe pertaining to medical device failures, including theAdvanced Bionics HiRes90k® cochlear implant , the TVM / TVT transvaginal mesh – sling and the DePuy hip implant. For a free case evaluation, please contact:

TOLL FREE: 1-800-632-1404

EMAIL: click here

FILL OUT THIS FORM:

NOTE: Our team of attorneys will review potential cases for all fifty states, including Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Zoloft may cause birth defects when a woman takes it during pregnancy. If you or a loved one has given birth to a child with a birth defect and the mother took Zoloft during pregnancy, you may be entitled to financial compensation.

Zoloft is prescribed for many purposes.  Sertraline is used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (bothersome thoughts that won’t go away and the need to perform certain actions over and over), panic attacks (sudden, unexpected attacks of extreme fear and worry about these attacks), posttraumatic stress disorder and others. Regardless of the reason of prescription, women who take this drug may experience a greater than average risk of infant child birth defects, including but not limited to heart defects, cleft palate, cleft lip, skeletal deformations and more. If your child experienced such a horrific side effect, please call our team of Zoloft lawyers today for a free case evaluation on how we can help.

How Do Pregnant Women React to Zoloft?

Zoloft medication is prescribed so that it alters the biochemical balance in the brain. Desirable effects that are aimed by this alteration include

• Reduce depression
• Reduce the occurrence of panic attack
• Decrease the effects of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder)
• Treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Treat sexual function impairment in men
• Reduce anxiety
• Reduce social anxiety
• Treat symptoms of IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)

However, these benefits may be offset by the side effects that accompany usage of this medication. The undesirable effects are observed in all ages and gender. To begin with, children may experience symptoms such as fever, temporary loss of control of the bladder, soreness or even infection of the sinus and hyperactivity. They may also experience a frequently bloody nose. The skin of the child might also develop bruise-like marks. These symptoms will go away when the child stops taking the medication.

Men who take the drug may also experience side effects. These are mostly related with the way the male hormones are affected by Zoloft. Reduced libido and sexual dysfunction are common undesirable effects. Anorexia, constipation and sleeplessness are also possible. Just like in children, these symptoms rapidly decrease and disappear when the medication is stopped.

In women, Zoloft alters the level of female hormones. Side effects that result due to this alteration include breast softness, mood swings, weight gain/loss, cramping, sleeplessness and a general feeling of weakness. These effects are more severe in pregnant women due to the hormone alterations already caused by pregnancy. The symptoms also seem to last longer in women than in men and children. This is because it takes longer for the hormone balance to be restored in women.

Women who take Zoloft while pregnant may also put their unborn babies at risk. The medication has been linked to cause birth defects in children. These defects include heart defects, miscarriages, premature birth, and delay in development, persistence pulmonary hypertension, skull /cranial defects, and abdominal defects among others.

The Problem

Our firm is offering free nationwide case evaluations to families whose children were diagnosed with medical conditions at birth or shortly therafter when the mother ingested Zoloft during pregnancy. Specific birth defects include cardiac malformations (ASD, VSD, Left Hypoplastic Heart Syndrome, coarctation of the aorta, Tricuspid or Pulmonary Atresia, Pulmonary Stenosis, transposition of the great vessels or any other heart defect), neural tube defect, craniosynostosis, cleft lip, cleft palate, skeletal deformations, and club foot.

About Zoloft

Our team of attorneys are currently reviewing potential Zoloft® lawsuits involving women who took these drugs during early pregnancy and whose children suffered adverse side effects, including heart defects and cleft lip/palate, among with others.

Manufactured by Pfizer, Inc., Zoloft^® is generically known as sertraline hydrochloride and is a drug prescribed to treat major depression in adults, as well as obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic and social anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder in both adults and children. Zoloft is classified as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drug, meaning that it selectively affects serotonin. Serotonin is one of many chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters, which pass messages between nerve cells, and has been linked in various studiesto an increased risk of birth defects.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initially placed SSRI antidepressants, including Zoloft, in its pregnancy Category C. This pregnancy category means that animal reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus, but there have not yet been adequate and well-controlled studies in humans. Pregnancy categories measure the teratogenic effects a drug has on a fetus. Teratogenic means that a drug or other substance is capable of interfering with the development of a fetus, so there could be serious risks to the unborn baby of a woman taking Zoloft while pregnant.

Birth defects or conditions that may be associated with the use of Zoloft include:

• Abdominal wall defects (infant omphalocele)
• Anal atresia (complete or partial closure of the anus)
• Cleft lip and cleft palate
• Clubfoot (one or both feet turn downward and inward)
• Heart (cardiac) defects
• Skull defect (craniosynostosis)

Zoloft was approved by the FDA and introduced into the market in 1991. Prior to 2002, the drug was approved only for use in adults ages 18 and over. In 2002, the FDA approved Zoloft to treat severe obsessive compulsive disorder in children ages six and older.

The FDA issued a Public Health Advisory on Dec. 8, 2005, warning that use of certain antidepressants during the first trimester of pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of birth defects. The advisory was based on U.S. and Swedish studies showing that exposure to certain antidepressants increased the risk of heart defects, including atrial and ventrical septal defects, conditions in which the wall between the right and left sides of the heart is not completely developed.

Citing a study by Christina Chambers of the University of California, San Diego, that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Health Canada issued a strong warning in March 2006 to pregnant women or women who were trying to become pregnant that antidepressant drugs like Zoloft could potentially pose serious risks to unborn or even nursing babies.

A 2007 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found a “significant association” between Zoloft and septal defects. A septal defect is a congenital defect that affects the structures of the heart. Septal defects can lead to the improper circulation of blood, making the heart work overtime. An atrial septal defect (ASD) is a hole in the wall between the heart’s two upper chambers. A hole in the wall between the two lower chambers is called a ventricular septal defect (VSD). Septal defects can be life threatening. According to the study, mothers who take Zoloft during pregnancy may double the risk of having an baby born with septal defects.

In another study published in the March 2010 issue of Pediatrics, researchers found a potential association between exposure to antidepressants in late pregnancy and a delay in normal motor development skills at six and 19 months of age. The same researchers, in a 2009 study published by British Medical Journal, found that women who were pregnant and taking certain antidepressants during the first trimester had an increased risk of giving birth to babies having various heart defects.

A recent study conducted by scientists at the University of Montreal and published online on May 31, 2010, in the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggests that women who take antidepressants like Zoloft during the first trimester of pregnancy are significantly more likely to suffer a miscarriage than women who do not take antidepressants.

The Archive of General Psychiatry published a report in July of 2011 linking SSRI antidepressants such as Zoloft to a potentially increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in babies born to mothers who took these drugs during the first trimester of pregnancy. Performed by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Northern California, the population-based, case-control study compared a group of 298 children having varying degrees of autism and their mothers to another group of 1,507 randomly selected children and their mothers. Nearly 70 children from each group were exposed to antidepressants in the same class as Zoloft, and the researchers found a possible connection between mothers who took these drugs within a year before delivery and an increased the risk of their babies being born with ASDs. The highest risk was found to be among those whose mothers took these drugs during the first trimester.

For a Free Case Evaluation:

TOLL FREE: 1-800-632-1404

EMAIL: click here

FILL OUT THIS FORM:

NOTE: Our team of attorneys will review potential cases for all fifty states, including Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Zoloft may cause birth defects when a woman takes it during pregnancy. If you or a loved one has given birth to a child with a birth defect and the mother took Zoloft during pregnancy, you may be entitled to financial compensation.

Zoloft is prescribed for many purposes.  Sertraline is used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (bothersome thoughts that won’t go away and the need to perform certain actions over and over), panic attacks (sudden, unexpected attacks of extreme fear and worry about these attacks), posttraumatic stress disorder and others. Regardless of the reason of prescription, women who take this drug may experience a greater than average risk of infant child birth defects, including but not limited to heart defects, cleft palate, cleft lip, skeletal deformations and more. If your child experienced such a horrific side effect, please call our team of Zoloft lawyers today for a free case evaluation on how we can help.

How Do Pregnant Women React to Zoloft?

Zoloft medication is mostly offered to people as a depressant among other reasons. This medication though has side effects that greatly outweigh the good effects. This is observed more so when the medication is taken by a pregnant woman. Women should strongly consider discussing the ingestion of Zoloft while pregnant. This is because the medication has the potential to cause many birth defects to the infant. Although the defects are not certain to occur if a pregnant woman takes Zoloft during the pregnancy period, the risks are too high to ignore. Some of the most common defects experienced in newborn babies whose mothers used Zoloft medication during pregnancy include the following.

Heart defects-various heart defects may be observed in the newborns. The septal heart defect and transposition of the great arteries are the most common. Others include hypoplastic right heart syndrome, hypoplastic left heart syndrome and tetralology of the fallot. These defects are common in mothers who used the medication during the first trimester of the pregnancy.

Cranial defects-this defects occurs when the baby’s head closes earlier than the normal period. Other than the abnormal shape of the head that will result, the brain may be denied room for growth. Surgery is usually required to correct this defect.

Abdominal defects-the most common defect is where the baby is born with some organs protruding from the abdomen region. These organs may include both the small and large intestines and sometimes the liver. Surgery is required to correct this defect.

Zoloft neural tube defect-this defect is characterized by absence of a part of the skull or even a part of the brain. This defect occurs due to Zoloft usage by the mother during the early development stages of the child. The child usually dies only a few days after birth. The defect is also known to cause miscarriages.

These are only some of the severe birth defects that infants may have due to Zoloft medication used during pregnancy.

The Problem

Our firm is offering free nationwide case evaluations to families whose children were diagnosed with medical conditions at birth or shortly therafter when the mother ingested Zoloft during pregnancy. Specific birth defects include cardiac malformations (ASD, VSD, Left Hypoplastic Heart Syndrome, coarctation of the aorta, Tricuspid or Pulmonary Atresia, Pulmonary Stenosis, transposition of the great vessels or any other heart defect), neural tube defect, craniosynostosis, cleft lip, cleft palate, skeletal deformations, and club foot.

About Zoloft

Our team of attorneys are currently reviewing potential Zoloft® lawsuits involving women who took these drugs during early pregnancy and whose children suffered adverse side effects, including heart defects and cleft lip/palate, among with others.

Manufactured by Pfizer, Inc., Zoloft^® is generically known as sertraline hydrochloride and is a drug prescribed to treat major depression in adults, as well as obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic and social anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder in both adults and children. Zoloft is classified as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drug, meaning that it selectively affects serotonin. Serotonin is one of many chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters, which pass messages between nerve cells, and has been linked in various studiesto an increased risk of birth defects.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initially placed SSRI antidepressants, including Zoloft, in its pregnancy Category C. This pregnancy category means that animal reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus, but there have not yet been adequate and well-controlled studies in humans. Pregnancy categories measure the teratogenic effects a drug has on a fetus. Teratogenic means that a drug or other substance is capable of interfering with the development of a fetus, so there could be serious risks to the unborn baby of a woman taking Zoloft while pregnant.

Birth defects or conditions that may be associated with the use of Zoloft include:

• Abdominal wall defects (infant omphalocele)
• Anal atresia (complete or partial closure of the anus)
• Cleft lip and cleft palate
• Clubfoot (one or both feet turn downward and inward)
• Heart (cardiac) defects
• Skull defect (craniosynostosis)

Zoloft was approved by the FDA and introduced into the market in 1991. Prior to 2002, the drug was approved only for use in adults ages 18 and over. In 2002, the FDA approved Zoloft to treat severe obsessive compulsive disorder in children ages six and older.

The FDA issued a Public Health Advisory on Dec. 8, 2005, warning that use of certain antidepressants during the first trimester of pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of birth defects. The advisory was based on U.S. and Swedish studies showing that exposure to certain antidepressants increased the risk of heart defects, including atrial and ventrical septal defects, conditions in which the wall between the right and left sides of the heart is not completely developed.

Citing a study by Christina Chambers of the University of California, San Diego, that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Health Canada issued a strong warning in March 2006 to pregnant women or women who were trying to become pregnant that antidepressant drugs like Zoloft could potentially pose serious risks to unborn or even nursing babies.

A 2007 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found a “significant association” between Zoloft and septal defects. A septal defect is a congenital defect that affects the structures of the heart. Septal defects can lead to the improper circulation of blood, making the heart work overtime. An atrial septal defect (ASD) is a hole in the wall between the heart’s two upper chambers. A hole in the wall between the two lower chambers is called a ventricular septal defect (VSD). Septal defects can be life threatening. According to the study, mothers who take Zoloft during pregnancy may double the risk of having an baby born with septal defects.

In another study published in the March 2010 issue of Pediatrics, researchers found a potential association between exposure to antidepressants in late pregnancy and a delay in normal motor development skills at six and 19 months of age. The same researchers, in a 2009 study published by British Medical Journal, found that women who were pregnant and taking certain antidepressants during the first trimester had an increased risk of giving birth to babies having various heart defects.

A recent study conducted by scientists at the University of Montreal and published online on May 31, 2010, in the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggests that women who take antidepressants like Zoloft during the first trimester of pregnancy are significantly more likely to suffer a miscarriage than women who do not take antidepressants.

The Archive of General Psychiatry published a report in July of 2011 linking SSRI antidepressants such as Zoloft to a potentially increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in babies born to mothers who took these drugs during the first trimester of pregnancy. Performed by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Northern California, the population-based, case-control study compared a group of 298 children having varying degrees of autism and their mothers to another group of 1,507 randomly selected children and their mothers. Nearly 70 children from each group were exposed to antidepressants in the same class as Zoloft, and the researchers found a possible connection between mothers who took these drugs within a year before delivery and an increased the risk of their babies being born with ASDs. The highest risk was found to be among those whose mothers took these drugs during the first trimester.

For a Free Case Evaluation:

TOLL FREE: 1-800-632-1404

EMAIL: click here

FILL OUT THIS FORM:

NOTE: Our team of attorneys will review potential cases for all fifty states, including Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Zoloft may cause birth defects when a woman takes it during pregnancy. If you or a loved one has given birth to a child with a birth defect and the mother took Zoloft during pregnancy, you may be entitled to financial compensation.

Zoloft is prescribed for many purposes.  Sertraline is used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (bothersome thoughts that won’t go away and the need to perform certain actions over and over), panic attacks (sudden, unexpected attacks of extreme fear and worry about these attacks), posttraumatic stress disorder and others. Regardless of the reason of prescription, women who take this drug may experience a greater than average risk of infant child birth defects, including but not limited to heart defects, cleft palate, cleft lip, skeletal deformations and more. If your child experienced such a horrific side effect, please call our team of Zoloft lawyers today for a free case evaluation on how we can help.

How Do Pregnant Women React to Zoloft?

Zoloft has been widely used as an antidepressant medication. Although it has been effective in this respect, it has been discovered to have quite a number of side effects. Both mild and severe effects have been observed across all ages and gender. Some believe that these undesirable effects greatly outweigh the benefits, especially to pregnant women. Pregnant women who take Zoloft are likely to experience uncomfortable conditions that may cause harm to themselves and the child. For instance, the suicidal thoughts that usually occur to most Zoloft users are not good for anyone. Pregnant women may end up hurting themselves or even hurting their unborn babies due to these. It is not advisable to recommend or prescribe any expectant woman to try this medication at any stage of the pregnancy. This symptom is even more pronounced in these women due to the various mood swings that are caused by pregnancy. Handling annoying pregnancy symptoms is hard enough without having to add more risks.

Other than the suicidal mood, women taking this medication during pregnancy period may themselves at risk of other discomforts. Zoloft has been considered to cause breast milk discharge in women. This may occur even when the woman has not recently given birth. The main reason for this condition is the interference caused by the medication on female hormones. Discharging breast milk when pregnant is very uncomfortable to the woman affected. Secondly, it takes a lot of important nutrients for the human body to process breast milk. These nutrients will be going to waste when freely discharged. This is not forgetting that the unborn baby requires huge amounts of nutrients to develop in a proper manner. Altering levels of female hormones during such a delicate period is also not worth the risk.

The Problem

Our firm is offering free nationwide case evaluations to families whose children were diagnosed with medical conditions at birth or shortly therafter when the mother ingested Zoloft during pregnancy. Specific birth defects include cardiac malformations (ASD, VSD, Left Hypoplastic Heart Syndrome, coarctation of the aorta, Tricuspid or Pulmonary Atresia, Pulmonary Stenosis, transposition of the great vessels or any other heart defect), neural tube defect, craniosynostosis, cleft lip, cleft palate, skeletal deformations, and club foot.

About Zoloft

Our team of attorneys are currently reviewing potential Zoloft® lawsuits involving women who took these drugs during early pregnancy and whose children suffered adverse side effects, including heart defects and cleft lip/palate, among with others.

Manufactured by Pfizer, Inc., Zoloft^® is generically known as sertraline hydrochloride and is a drug prescribed to treat major depression in adults, as well as obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic and social anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder in both adults and children. Zoloft is classified as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drug, meaning that it selectively affects serotonin. Serotonin is one of many chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters, which pass messages between nerve cells, and has been linked in various studiesto an increased risk of birth defects.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initially placed SSRI antidepressants, including Zoloft, in its pregnancy Category C. This pregnancy category means that animal reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus, but there have not yet been adequate and well-controlled studies in humans. Pregnancy categories measure the teratogenic effects a drug has on a fetus. Teratogenic means that a drug or other substance is capable of interfering with the development of a fetus, so there could be serious risks to the unborn baby of a woman taking Zoloft while pregnant.

Birth defects or conditions that may be associated with the use of Zoloft include:

• Abdominal wall defects (infant omphalocele)
• Anal atresia (complete or partial closure of the anus)
• Cleft lip and cleft palate
• Clubfoot (one or both feet turn downward and inward)
• Heart (cardiac) defects
• Skull defect (craniosynostosis)

Zoloft was approved by the FDA and introduced into the market in 1991. Prior to 2002, the drug was approved only for use in adults ages 18 and over. In 2002, the FDA approved Zoloft to treat severe obsessive compulsive disorder in children ages six and older.

The FDA issued a Public Health Advisory on Dec. 8, 2005, warning that use of certain antidepressants during the first trimester of pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of birth defects. The advisory was based on U.S. and Swedish studies showing that exposure to certain antidepressants increased the risk of heart defects, including atrial and ventrical septal defects, conditions in which the wall between the right and left sides of the heart is not completely developed.

Citing a study by Christina Chambers of the University of California, San Diego, that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Health Canada issued a strong warning in March 2006 to pregnant women or women who were trying to become pregnant that antidepressant drugs like Zoloft could potentially pose serious risks to unborn or even nursing babies.

A 2007 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found a “significant association” between Zoloft and septal defects. A septal defect is a congenital defect that affects the structures of the heart. Septal defects can lead to the improper circulation of blood, making the heart work overtime. An atrial septal defect (ASD) is a hole in the wall between the heart’s two upper chambers. A hole in the wall between the two lower chambers is called a ventricular septal defect (VSD). Septal defects can be life threatening. According to the study, mothers who take Zoloft during pregnancy may double the risk of having an baby born with septal defects.

In another study published in the March 2010 issue of Pediatrics, researchers found a potential association between exposure to antidepressants in late pregnancy and a delay in normal motor development skills at six and 19 months of age. The same researchers, in a 2009 study published by British Medical Journal, found that women who were pregnant and taking certain antidepressants during the first trimester had an increased risk of giving birth to babies having various heart defects.

A recent study conducted by scientists at the University of Montreal and published online on May 31, 2010, in the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggests that women who take antidepressants like Zoloft during the first trimester of pregnancy are significantly more likely to suffer a miscarriage than women who do not take antidepressants.

The Archive of General Psychiatry published a report in July of 2011 linking SSRI antidepressants such as Zoloft to a potentially increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in babies born to mothers who took these drugs during the first trimester of pregnancy. Performed by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Northern California, the population-based, case-control study compared a group of 298 children having varying degrees of autism and their mothers to another group of 1,507 randomly selected children and their mothers. Nearly 70 children from each group were exposed to antidepressants in the same class as Zoloft, and the researchers found a possible connection between mothers who took these drugs within a year before delivery and an increased the risk of their babies being born with ASDs. The highest risk was found to be among those whose mothers took these drugs during the first trimester.

For a Free Case Evaluation:

TOLL FREE: 1-800-632-1404

EMAIL: click here

FILL OUT THIS FORM:

NOTE: Our team of attorneys will review potential cases for all fifty states, including Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Zoloft may cause birth defects when a woman takes it during pregnancy. If you or a loved one has given birth to a child with a birth defect and the mother took Zoloft during pregnancy, you may be entitled to financial compensation.

Zoloft is prescribed for many purposes.  Sertraline is used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (bothersome thoughts that won’t go away and the need to perform certain actions over and over), panic attacks (sudden, unexpected attacks of extreme fear and worry about these attacks), posttraumatic stress disorder and others. Regardless of the reason of prescription, women who take this drug may experience a greater than average risk of infant child birth defects, including but not limited to heart defects, cleft palate, cleft lip, skeletal deformations and more. If your child experienced such a horrific side effect, please call our team of Zoloft lawyers today for a free case evaluation on how we can help.

Zoloft Cases Filed and In the News

Our team of Zoloft lawyers would like to report on some general information about Zoloft, and if you or your loved one has given birth to a child with a birth defect, including a heart defect, and you took Zoloft during pregnancy, we would be honored to discuss your situation. One specific newspaper is covering a recent rash of filings for birth defects caused by ingestion of Zoloft.

The West Virginia Record (WV) (8/10) reports that “nineteen cases have been filed against Pfizer after mothers claim their children suffered from birth defects due to Zoloft.” The article explains the plaintiffs in the case “claim they took Zoloft as prescribed by treating physicians while pregnant. The minor plaintiffs were born suffering from congenital defects.” The lawsuits claim that the pharmaceutical company “knew or should have known of the that Zoloft caused serious birth defects.”

The Problem

Our firm is offering free nationwide case evaluations to families whose children were diagnosed with medical conditions at birth or shortly therafter when the mother ingested Zoloft during pregnancy. Specific birth defects include cardiac malformations (ASD, VSD, Left Hypoplastic Heart Syndrome, coarctation of the aorta, Tricuspid or Pulmonary Atresia, Pulmonary Stenosis, transposition of the great vessels or any other heart defect), neural tube defect, craniosynostosis, cleft lip, cleft palate, skeletal deformations, and club foot.

About Zoloft

Our team of attorneys are currently reviewing potential Zoloft® lawsuits involving women who took these drugs during early pregnancy and whose children suffered adverse side effects, including heart defects and cleft lip/palate, among with others.

Manufactured by Pfizer, Inc., Zoloft^® is generically known as sertraline hydrochloride and is a drug prescribed to treat major depression in adults, as well as obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic and social anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder in both adults and children. Zoloft is classified as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drug, meaning that it selectively affects serotonin. Serotonin is one of many chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters, which pass messages between nerve cells, and has been linked in various studiesto an increased risk of birth defects.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initially placed SSRI antidepressants, including Zoloft, in its pregnancy Category C. This pregnancy category means that animal reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus, but there have not yet been adequate and well-controlled studies in humans. Pregnancy categories measure the teratogenic effects a drug has on a fetus. Teratogenic means that a drug or other substance is capable of interfering with the development of a fetus, so there could be serious risks to the unborn baby of a woman taking Zoloft while pregnant.

Birth defects or conditions that may be associated with the use of Zoloft include:

• Abdominal wall defects (infant omphalocele)
• Anal atresia (complete or partial closure of the anus)
• Cleft lip and cleft palate
• Clubfoot (one or both feet turn downward and inward)
• Heart (cardiac) defects
• Skull defect (craniosynostosis)

Zoloft was approved by the FDA and introduced into the market in 1991. Prior to 2002, the drug was approved only for use in adults ages 18 and over. In 2002, the FDA approved Zoloft to treat severe obsessive compulsive disorder in children ages six and older.

The FDA issued a Public Health Advisory on Dec. 8, 2005, warning that use of certain antidepressants during the first trimester of pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of birth defects. The advisory was based on U.S. and Swedish studies showing that exposure to certain antidepressants increased the risk of heart defects, including atrial and ventrical septal defects, conditions in which the wall between the right and left sides of the heart is not completely developed.

Citing a study by Christina Chambers of the University of California, San Diego, that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Health Canada issued a strong warning in March 2006 to pregnant women or women who were trying to become pregnant that antidepressant drugs like Zoloft could potentially pose serious risks to unborn or even nursing babies.

A 2007 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found a “significant association” between Zoloft and septal defects. A septal defect is a congenital defect that affects the structures of the heart. Septal defects can lead to the improper circulation of blood, making the heart work overtime. An atrial septal defect (ASD) is a hole in the wall between the heart’s two upper chambers. A hole in the wall between the two lower chambers is called a ventricular septal defect (VSD). Septal defects can be life threatening. According to the study, mothers who take Zoloft during pregnancy may double the risk of having an baby born with septal defects.

In another study published in the March 2010 issue of Pediatrics, researchers found a potential association between exposure to antidepressants in late pregnancy and a delay in normal motor development skills at six and 19 months of age. The same researchers, in a 2009 study published by British Medical Journal, found that women who were pregnant and taking certain antidepressants during the first trimester had an increased risk of giving birth to babies having various heart defects.

A recent study conducted by scientists at the University of Montreal and published online on May 31, 2010, in the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggests that women who take antidepressants like Zoloft during the first trimester of pregnancy are significantly more likely to suffer a miscarriage than women who do not take antidepressants.

The Archive of General Psychiatry published a report in July of 2011 linking SSRI antidepressants such as Zoloft to a potentially increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in babies born to mothers who took these drugs during the first trimester of pregnancy. Performed by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Northern California, the population-based, case-control study compared a group of 298 children having varying degrees of autism and their mothers to another group of 1,507 randomly selected children and their mothers. Nearly 70 children from each group were exposed to antidepressants in the same class as Zoloft, and the researchers found a possible connection between mothers who took these drugs within a year before delivery and an increased the risk of their babies being born with ASDs. The highest risk was found to be among those whose mothers took these drugs during the first trimester.

For a Free Case Evaluation:

TOLL FREE: 1-800-632-1404

EMAIL: click here

FILL OUT THIS FORM:

NOTE: Our team of attorneys will review potential cases for all fifty states, including Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin and Wyoming.