Women who take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) antidepressant medications during pregnancy may be more likely to give birth to newborns with persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPH), a new study suggests.
According to MedPageToday, PPH in newborns occurs when “the pulmonary vascular resistance fails to decrease after birth and the ductus arteriosus remains open to ensure circulation.” The fatality rates are between five and 10 percent.
A study undertaken by Kieler and her team analyzed 1,618,255 births from 1996 to 2007 from national health registries from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Denmark.
The analysis found that nearly 30,000 of the women had filled prescriptions for an SSRI. Those who filled them in the later pregnancy caused their chances of giving birth to children with PPH to more than double. Researchers also found that the chances for PPH increased for infants in women who had a history of psychiatric disorders.
Internal Medicine News reports that the antidepressants in their analyses were fluoxetine (Prozac), escitalopram (Lexapro) sertraline (Zoloft), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil), and citalopram (Celexa).
If you have been harmed by an unsafe drug, contact Sokolove Law to find out if a dangerous drugs lawyer may be able to help you and represent your case.