Major Zoloft Birth Defects
Pfizer has over $2 billion in annual income from Zoloft, one of the most used antidepressant in the United States. However, research studies published in the recent years highlighted a number of birth injury risks associated with it.
A 2012 report in the Human Reproduction journal warned of vertebra and brain deformities in children born to mothers treated with Zoloft when pregnant. This was supported by reports in Neuropsychopharmacology (Chiari type 1 brain malformation, May 2014) and the New England Journal of Medicine (anencephaly, 2007). Zoloft birth defects in a baby may also include developmental delays, fatal lung problem, brain malformations, clubfoot, and heart defects.
A Havard research report claims that Zoloft birth defect in a baby may lead to “two-fold risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.” The drug prescribed to save yet-to-born children from psychological illness of pregnant mothers may result in autism, preterm birth-linked problems, and other birth anomalies when they are born.
The reason for Zoloft birth defect in a baby is traced to ability of the serotonin-inhibitor drug to blind “cell-signaling molecule of a pregnant woman” that impacts physical and mental development of children at the prenatal stage. According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University, Zoloft ingestion during pregnancy hikes autism risk in newborns by three times.
While disfigurement is the most common non-fatal Zoloft birth defect in a baby, the antidepressant may lead to fatal persistent pulmonary hypertension and hypoplastic heart syndrome, which impact oxygen circulation in the body. Cranial defects, including undeveloped vertebra and neural tube, also threaten lives of newborns.
Zoloft Birth Defects Claims Mirror Paxil Lawsuits
Zoloft birth defect lawsuits against Pfizer emulate more than 800 similar claims made against GlaxoSmithKline’s Paxil antidepressant. Similar to the New York-based Pfizer, the London-headquartered Glaxo refuted allegation of defective drug and negligence in warning consumers about potential side effects. However, it relented in the face stiff opposition from consumer groups and legal setbacks over “failure to properly report safety data to regulators.” The manufacturer paid over $3 billion to settle all criminal and civil proceedings pertaining to the allegations.
Interestingly, both Zoloft and Paxil belong to the same class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Paxil was introduced in 1992, a year after Zoloft was approved. Both drugs were prescribed to treat major depressive disorders and have been linked to identical side effects. In fact, there were many research reports that evaluated both drugs together to review effect of SSRI-class antidepressants when prescribed to pregnant women and attested a number of fatal and non-fatal side effects as common to two medications.
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