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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.
Congenital heart defects are one of the dangerous side effects of consuming Wellbutrin during pregnancy.
Congenital heart defects
Before birth, the fundamental site of gas exchange in the fetal circulation is across the placenta. Shunts (foramen ovale and ductus arteriosus) are present in the fetal circulation to allow for placental gas exchange. At birth, major circulatory changes occur with closure of the shunts and establishment of the lungs as the site of gas exchange. In some children, these shunts or holes dividing the right and left sides of the heart remain open, resulting in the following types of congenital heart defects: atrial septal defects, ventricular septal defects, and patent ductus arteriosus. The circulatory pressures required to pump the blood to the body (left side) are higher than those required to pump blood to the lungs (right side), thus creating in effect a left to right shunt of blood away from the body to the lungs. Less severe variations of these lesions can close spontaneously, whereas more severe variants may require special cardiac medication, catheterization, or surgery for closure.
Persistent pulmonary hypertension
Another dangerous side effect of Wellbutrin is persistent pulmonary hypertension. It means, literally, persistent high blood pressure in the lungs. While a baby is in the womb, the pressure on the blood vessels in the lungs is high and the vessels are narrow. Once the baby is delivered and takes his or her first breath, filling the lungs with air, the pressure in the blood vessels should fall and the vessels should expand, so that blood from the heart can flow into them. The changes in pressure and the new pattern of blood circulation should cause the two ducts, the ductus arteriosus and the foramen ovale, to close. If, for some reason, the pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs does not fall, too little blood flows to them. The foramen ovale is not pushed shut but continues to allow blood to flow from the right to the left side of the baby’s heart and through the ductus arteriosus as it did in the womb. As a result, much of the blood bypasses the pulmonary artery and does not travel to the lungs to pick up oxygen for the rest of the body. Unless the condition can be corrected by drugs or surgery, the baby becomes increasingly ill and short of oxygen, and is likely to develop heart failure.
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:
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