Paxil And Babies

A Danish study published in September 2009, entitled “Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in pregnancy and congenital malformations: population based cohort study” resulted in an important conclusion. It is cited at BMJ 2009;339:b3569.  Medical experts in the Departments of Epidemiology, Pediatrics and General Practice at the Institute of Public Health, Aarhus University, Denmark, and the UCLA School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, collaborated in the study.

The study’s Objective was “to investigate any association between selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) taken during pregnancy and congenital major malformations.”  It included 493,113 children born in Denmark from 1996-2003.  It found that SSRIs “were associated with septal heart defects.”

The doctors and researchers concluded that there “is an increased prevalence of septal heart defects among children whose mothers were prescribed an SSRI in early pregnancy.”

There are potential dangers to the developing baby of women who get pregnant while taking paroxetine, or who start it after getting pregnant.  We are involved in cases where women took Paxil in various trimesters of pregnancy.  The cases usually involve allegations of fetal heart damage when the mother took Paxil early in the pregnancy.

However, Glaxo’s www.gsk.com own literature shows that newborns who were exposed to Paxil and other SSRIs or SNRIs (selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) late in pregnancy have at times developed complications requiring prolonged hospitalization, respiratory support, and tube feeding.

Paxil related complications in newborns may include respiratory distress, cyanosis, apnea, seizures, temperature instability, feeding difficulty, vomiting, hypoglycemia, hypotonia, hypertonia, hyperreflexia, tremor, jitteriness, irritability and constant crying.