It is estimated that five to 10 percent of women of childbearing age suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) to some degree.

For the past several decades, clomiphene citrate (Clomid, Serophene) has been the fertility drug of choice for making PCOS patients ovulate.

For the past 10 years or so, Letrozole (Femara) has been available in the United States as a drug used for treating hormonally responsive breast cancer after surgery.  Letrozole is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) like Clomid and can also be used to induce ovulation.

Even though letrozole is not FDA approved for use as a fertility treatment, a recent research study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, compared the live birth rates of patients with PCOS who used Letrozole instead of Clomid to help in getting pregnant.

They concluded that women who received Letrozole had significantly more live births than those who received Clomid — 27.5 percent versus 19.1 percent or 31 more births in the Letrozole group.

This study followed 750 women who were diagnosed with PCOS and were randomly assigned to take either Letrozole or Clomid. Patients who received Letrozole had a higher ovulation rate (61.7 percent versus 48.3 percent) than those who received Clomid.

While this may be the first study that compares Clomid to another fertility treatment, it is not the first study involving Clomid. Numerous Clomid birth defects studies have been conducted that examine the links between the go-to fertility drug Clomid and an increased risk of babies born with severe birth defects.

Studies Suggest Increased Risk of Clomid Birth Defects

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a study online in the journal Human Reproduction, suggesting a significant correlation between the fertility drug Clomid and at least nine types of potentially fatal birth defects.  The study focused on women who took Clomid in the two months prior to pregnancy and during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Clomid birth defects mentioned in the CDC study include:

• Anencephaly (open cranium with the absence of a brain)
• Cloacal extrophy (involves multiple abnormalities of the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts)
• Craniosynostosis (premature fusion of the skull bones)
• Dandy Walker malformation (defect of the brain)
• Esophageal atresia (closed esophagus)
• Omphalocele(protrusion of part of the intestine through the abdominal wall)
• Three different types of fetal heart defects

In 2003, a study conducted by Dr. Jennita Reefhuis and others found that women who took Clomid during pregnancy had a 10 times higher risk of having a child born with spina bifida, a neural tube birth defect where the backbone and spinal column do not completely close before birth.

A study by the Harvard School of Public Health in 2010 found that Clomid and other fertility drugs taken during pregnancy nearly doubled the risk for autism spectrum disorders. Hypospadias (irregularly placed or missing urethra) were found to be 508 percent more common in boys born to mothers who took Clomid while expecting in a 2006 study.

One study conducted on 2,339 women who took Clomid prior to or during pregnancy found that in nearly 2.5 percent of cases, these women’s babies suffered from reproductive complications, stillbirth, spontaneous abortion, and the following birth defects:

• Down’s Syndrome
• Club foot
• Cleft lip and/or cleft palates
• Undescended testes in males
• Blindness
• Hernia
• Malformations

The percentages of these birth defects may seem low, but these birth defects were entirely preventable.

Clomid Birth Defects Lawsuit

On the heels of these numerous scientific studies that link Clomid to serious birth defects, a number of families have opted to file Clomid birth defect lawsuits in pursuit of compensation for damages such as medical bills, prescription costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

If you believe your child’s birth defect may be linked to Clomid taken before or during pregnancy, you may be able to file a Clomid birth defects lawsuit.