Neurontin (also known by its generic name gabapentin) is an anti-epileptic treatment that is prescribed to help patients manage their seizures and convulsions. This anticonvulsant medication can be prescribed alone or in combination with other medications to help adults and children 12 years and older manage their epileptic seizures.

On occasion, Neurontin is also prescribed to treat the following FDA approved conditions:

• chronic nerve pain
• shingles side effects
• diabetic neuropathy
• peripheral neuropathy
• trigeminal neuralgia
• multiple sclerosis
• sciatic nerve pain

In some cases, the gabapentin drug is prescribed off-label (meaning for uses not approved of by the FDA) to treat anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, insomnia, and restless leg syndrome. Because of its many uses, Neurontin has become quite popular within the medical community. However, recent reports and Neurontin lawsuits have linked the use of Neurontin while pregnant with the development of birth defects.

Many mothers have filed or are considering filing a Neurontin birth defects lawsuit or joining a Neurontin birth defects class action lawsuit against the drug’s manufacturer, Pfizer Inc.

Neurontin Birth Defects

According to recent international studies, women who use Neurontin during pregnancy are at a significantly higher risk of giving birth to children with certain birth defects.

One such study was conducted in Denmark and examined over 800,000 live births that occurred within the country between January 1996 and September 2008. This birth defects study reportedly identified a 3.2 percent risk of birth defects among the children of mothers who took newer antiepileptic medications like Neurontin. The reason a drug like Neurontin affects an unborn child when a the mother takes Neurontin while pregnant has to do with the fact that any drug a mother takes is usually passed through to the fetus through the placenta.

Additionally, a gabapentin animal study was performed to observe the effects of the Neurontin drug on animals and the possible risks this may imply for human subjects. According to this Neurontin research study, the animals who were given this drug demonstrated delayed ossification (the process of turning cartilage into bone) in their skulls, vertebrae, forelimbs, and hindlimbs. Conditions that affect the animals’ kidney urinary systems, like hydroureter and hydronephrosis, were also observed in this study.

A list of birth defects associated with the use of the gabapentin drug include:

• Cleft palate
• Craniosynostosis (skull malformations)
• Other bone malformations
• Heart defects
• Hydroureter and/or hydronephrosis
• Hypospadias (an abnormality in the opening of the urethra in boys)
• Polydactyly (extra fingers or toes)
• Spina bifida
• Other congenital defects

Mothers who suspect their children were born with birth defects as a result of their use of Neurontin and further claim that the drug label did not adequately warn them of the possible Neurontin birth defects should consult a birth defect attorney to see if they are eligible to pursue a Neurontin class action lawsuit.