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Antidepressant Poses Risk to Unborn Baby
This February 8, 2006 USA
Today article starts off with a grave warning to pregnant women, "Women who
take a common type of antidepressant during the second half of their
pregnancy are about six times more likely to give birth to a baby with a
rare but potentially fatal heart and lung condition."
The
problems come from drugs called SSRI antidepressants such as Prozac, Zoloft,
and Paxil. The potential problem is a rare but serious situation
called PPHN: persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. Normally, the
rate of PPHN is one or two per 1000 babies. The recent study shows the
rate of this problem to rise to 1 in 100 in women taking these
antidepressants late in their pregnancy. PPHN kills up to 20
percent of babies and half the survivors are left with serious abnormalities
The study, prompting the
alarms, is published in the February 9, 2006 issue of the New England
Journal of Medicine. Lead author on the study, Christina Chambers,
Ph.D., M.P.H., of the Departments of Pediatrics and Family and Preventive
Medicine at UCSD noted that the risk of incidence of these problems are
higher in women taking these antidepressants. She states, "Based on our
findings, we estimate that six to twelve mothers per thousand who use an
SSRI after 20 weeks’ gestation, are likely to deliver a child with PPHN."
Dr. Sandra Kweder, deputy
director of the office of new drugs at the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation
and Research commented, "This appears to be a very well-conducted study and
we find the results to be very concerning."
In an unrelated study
published in the February 2, 2006 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics &
Adolescent Medicine, it was determined that almost one-third of infants born
to mothers using SSRI antidepressants at or near term experienced withdrawal
symptoms known as neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS. In other words
these infants are subject to withdrawal symptoms. This syndrome is
characterized by high-pitched crying, tremors, and sleep disturbances.
The authors of the study also note, "The long-term effects of prolonged
exposure to SSRIs, particularly in neonates who develop severe symptoms,
have yet to be determined." |