Lexapro Pregnancy Study May Affect Birth Defect Lawsuits

There is a growing concern in America today. SSRI antidepressants are the leading prescription provided to patients in the United States from ages 18 to 44. The use of antidepressants has risen to over 400% since the year 1992. One of the reasons this is cause for such concern is because this age group also includes women in their child baring years. There have been a number of very serious birth defects linked to women who take SSRIs during pregnancy, including the popular antidepressant Lexapro.

As if that is not enough of a concern, a recent study indicated there is actually no clear benefit to using Lexapro during pregnancy. This means all those who have had babies with Lexapro birth defects were exposed to such terrible consequences for no good reason.
Many experts have proclaimed that conducting clinical trials involving pregnant women and SSRI antidepressants is very questionable when it comes to ethics. However, there are still researches out there that continue to seek answers when it comes to the question of whether or not patients who are battling depression and then find out they are pregnant are better off continuing to take antidepressants during pregnancy or going off the medication to avoid potential birth defects.

One of the SSRI antidepressants included in the study was Lexapro, also known as escitalopram. The researchers that completed this birth defect study were based out of Boston and used data from studies that had been previously released. The results were released on October 31, 2012 from CBS News. They came away with two different conclusions from the evidence of their study.

Study author Dr. Adam Urato, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Tufts Medical Center and chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at MetroWest Medical Center, was quoted in saying that there were “clear and concerning” negative side effect results when women used SSRI antidepressants during their pregnancies. He went on to claim that he and his fellow researchers found no benefit to taking SSRI antidepressants during pregnancy. He went on to state that the goal of the study was never to try to convince women to SSRI antidepressants during pregnancy but instead, “The goal is to give them information so they can make the right decision for them.”

Potential Lexapro Birth Defects

There are a number of Lexapro birth defects that have been reported. Some of these include the following:

• Cardiac Defects
• Cranial Defects
• Atrial Septal Defects
• Spina Bifida
• Autism
• Clubfoot
• Aorta Coarctation

If your child or a child that you know has been the victim of a SSRI antidepressant birth defect you need to contact a qualified SSRI antidepressant lawsuit attorney right away. Visit the Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, Lexapro & Prozac SSRI Antidepressant Birth Defect Class Action Lawsuit Investigation page to take advantage of your free legal review.