An Alabama federal court denied Eli Lilly’s motion to dismiss a birth defect lawsuit filed by a mother who alleges that taking Prozac during her pregnancy caused her son to be born with a congenital heart defect.

U.S. District Chief Judge Keith Watkins for the Middle District of Alabama dismissed the motion based on a dispute over plaintiff Dana F.’s use of the antidepressant.

Specifically, the court ruled Dana could still show “factual causation” that her late doctor would have prescribed a different medication if Eli Lilly issued stronger warnings back in 1996.

According to the Prozac birth defects lawsuit, Dana is seeking monetary recovery from Eli Lilly, the drug’s manufacturer, claiming that her son was born on Jan. 29, 1997 with a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot (along with moderate pulmonary valve insufficiency) caused by her taking the prescription drug Prozac during the first eight months of her pregnancy.

Tetralogy of Fallot is a rare condition caused by a combination of four heart defects that affect the structure of the heart and cause oxygen-deficient blood to flow into the body.

Dana’s action, filed in January 2013, focuses on Eli Lilly’s alleged failure in 1996 to provide adequate warnings about the risks of Prozac causing birth defects if used during pregnancy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Eli Lilly’s marketing of the drug in 1987, according to the Prozac birth defects lawsuit.

Prozac Birth Defects

According to Finnish researchers, the use of this SSRI during pregnancy can put the mother at risk for delivering a child with heart defects.

A study featured in Obstetrics & Gynecology found that 105 children for every 10,000 exposed to Prozac during pregnancy developed isolated ventricular septal defects, a hole which forms between the right and left sides of the heart.

The risk of this Prozac birth defect was more than double that among children born to women not taking the drug while pregnant. The study also found that women who took any SSRI while pregnant were more than twice as likely to deliver a child with a neural tube defect.

Prozac Birth Defect Lawsuits

Mothers who took Prozac during pregnancy and delivered children with birth defects may have legal recourse. Reportedly, the use of SSRIs like Prozac during pregnancy have been associated with a risk of congenital malformations, and women who bore children with birth defects after taking the drug during pregnancy may be able to file a claim seeking compensation.

A Prozac birth defects lawsuit may be an option for these individuals, as the manufacturer of the drug may have failed to properly warn about the risks associated with this medication.

The Prozac Birth Defects Lawsuit is Case No. 2:13-cv-00035, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.