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Effexor Birth Defect: The Symptoms of “Effexor Baby”

Contact Effexor Birth Defect Lawyer for Effexor Side Effect Lawsuit
Contact Effexor Birth Defect Lawyer for Effexor Side Effect Lawsuit

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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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    Reports Show that Effexor Taken During Pregnancy May Cause Birth Defects

    Effexor Birth Injury

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    Effexor Birth Injury Lawsuit Claims Fatal Respiratory Problem in Newborns

    Effexor Birth Defects are a serious injury.  A Tennessee mother gave birth to a boy with life-threatening persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) as a result of antidepressant Effexor birth injury side effects. The pregnant woman had taken the Effexor antidepressant so that she could maintain a healthy emotional state and prevent any prenatal injury or suffering to the fetus because of her conditions. She believed the antidepressant was without any side effect and could be a safe solution for her mental condition.

    However, the repercussions of her taking the medicine during pregnancy were extremely severe and unexpected. Effexor side effects resulted in the birth of the boy with PPHN, a serious birth defect that restricts the lung functions and prevents oxygen from reaching vital organs. The child was put on a neonatal intensive care unit respirator for a week, as he could not breathe properly for a few minutes after his birth and experienced life-threatening conditions.

    According to the Effexor birth injury lawsuit filed by the aggrieved parents, PPHN caused by Effexor birth defect side effects resulted in near-fatal condition for their child and despite early treatment, the child continues to suffer health problems and needs constant monitoring for years. In addition, they blame the manufacturer for their emotional suffering and financial losses solely because it did not warn pregnant women about Effexor birth injury risks.

    Effexor Birth Injury Side Effects and PPHN

    Venlafaxine sold under the brand name Effexor by Pfizer is a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, a class of more potent antidepressants that impacts enzymes controlling emotional state in our brain. A number of research reports have warned of potential danger of persistent pulmonary hypertension in children born to mothers treated with the antidepressant during pregnancy.

    According to the New England Journal of Medicine, Effexor birth injury side effects may result in a six-fold rise in fatal PPHN risk if the antidepressant was consumed by pregnant women on or after 20th week of pregnancy. The study acted as catalyst for many to seek product liability against the manufacturer. The FDA and Health Canada also issued public advisories in the coming years, cautioning expectant mothers against ant-depressant use.

    Effexor PPHN: The Fatal Condition

    Persistent pulmonary hypertension caused by Effexor birth defects in newborns denotes a type of lung disorder that inhibits blood oxygen circulation and results in severe respiratory distress. Once the child is born, the lungs become active to supply oxygen to the body, which is performed through the neural tube during the prenatal stage. The incompetence of lungs due to PPHN birth defect disorder restricts pulmonary arteries entrusted with the function of ensuring smooth flow of blood oxygen. As a result, blood pressure shoots up to life-threatening level damaging vital body organs because of restricted blood flow and oxygen paucity.

    Newborns with PPHN experience breathing problems and enhanced heart rate. Researchers have found PPHN in newborns is primarily because of the inability of the blood vessel, which carries prenatal oxygen supply to babies, to shut properly. This stops blood from reaching lungs, which, in turn, fail to carry adequate oxygen to different parts of the human body. Effexor antidepressant side effects during prenatal stage play a role in resulting in a congenital injury.

    The condition may lead to heart and kidney failures and seizures if it is not treated immediately and successfully. Persistent pulmonary hypertension in newborns has resulted in a large number of Effexor birth defect lawsuits filed across the federal courts in the United States.

    If you or a loved one took Effexor and a child was born with birth defects,please fill out the form to the right or call us so that we can provide you with forms to evaluate your potential case immediately. You may also visit our Effexor Birth Defect Lawsuit Information Source.

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      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.