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Researches warning Effexor birth defects have sparked fear among expectant mothers. About 20 percent of US women suffer from depressive disorders during pregnancy, and many of them are treated with SNRI antidepressant Effexor due to its proclaimed superior efficacy. However, Effexor side effects during pregnancy are so menacing for newborns that medical professionals have coined the word “Effexor Baby” to indicate their special care requirements. Born with physical, neural, heart, and severe respiratory deformities following prenatal venlafaxine exposure, these newborns require immediate and intensive care and potential surgical intervention.
Effexor Birth Defect: The Story of First Effexor Baby
The first official reports using the word “Effexor Baby” appeared in 2009 on a blog called uniteforlife.org, platform for victims of antidepressant side effects. Based on the real-life experience of a couple, who lost their child within two hours of birth due to Effexor birth defects, the story entitled The Bitter Pill caught the imagination of readers.
Matthew Schultz, the fourth child of Amery and Christiane, could not survive for more than two hours and succumbed to cardiac arrest attributed to be an Effexor birth defect. The mother was on Effexor antidepressant for over six years prior to pregnancy and her doctors advised her to continue taking the drug in the absence of any warning by the manufacturer. She gave birth to two children with heart problems and a third with lung disorder.
However, when she went into premature labor during the fourth pregnancy, the physicians at the hospital she was admitted began emergency neonatal intensive care preparations, citing the risk of “an Effexor baby.” Matthew’s death led to an Effexor birth defect lawsuit by the couple, who also trace health disorders of all previous three children to the SNRI antidepressant side effects.
Effexor Birth Defect: Possible Deformities in an Effexor Baby
In 2013, the National Institutes of Health admitted the association between of Effexor and neonatal birth defects and demanded more research on the subject. The most reported Effexor pregnancy side effects leading to deformities and health problems in newborns include
- malformations and physical disfigurements
- hypoplastic heart
- neural tube defects
- septal and heart valve imperfections
- fatal respiratory distress persistent pulmonary hypertension
- cranial defects, skull malformations
- brain and spinal cord flaws
- vertebra deficiencies
Effexor Birth Defect: The Regulatory Warnings
In 2004, the FDA issued a drug alert saying “neonates exposed to Effexor, other SNRIs (Serotonin and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors), or SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors), late in the third trimester of pregnancy have developed complications requiring prolonged hospitalization, respiratory support, and tube feeding.” However, there is no label by Wyeth or Pfizer warning despite the gravity of Effexor pregnancy side effects.
In 2006, Health Canada issued a stronger warning that advised expectant mothers of potential life-threatening risk of Effexor birth defects and even asked them to shun the drug while breast feeding their children.
Research Reports Triggers Effexor Birth Defect Lawsuits
In December 2012, a study carried on by the Center for Disease Control pointed out “statistically significant increase” in birth defect risk associated with Effexor pregnancy side effects. The report discovered 30 types of potential risks SSRI and SNRI antidepressants could cause. Widely published, the report led to an increase in the filing of Effexor lawsuits across the country.
This followed a meta-analysis of over 180 reports that blamed the antidepressant exposure during pregnancy for causing heart, lung, brain, bone, and other disorders in children.
To know about the process for filing Effexor lawsuit and pursue defective medical device product liability claims for financial and non-financial damages citing drug maker’s actions and inactions, please contact us or call on 1-800-632-1404.
Contact an Effexor Birth Defect Lawyer Today.
If your child was born with a birth defect and you or a loved one took Zoloft during the first trimester or pregnancy, please contact us immediately.
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