New SSRI Antidepressant Birth Defect Study Raises Skepticism

It was recently announced that there has been a new study released claiming there is not a link between SSRI antidepressants and the birth defects they have been associated with. However, this report has done little to reassure those in the medical community that there is indeed no need to worry.

For the last few years there has been growing awareness that using SSRI antidepressants during pregnancy could increase your chances of delivering a baby with severe side effects. As a result, there have been many SSRI antidepressant birth defect lawsuits filed on behalf families claiming that the manufacturers did not do an adequate job of making them aware of the potential risk for SSRI birth defects. However, now this study claims that there is actually no elevated side effect risk after all.

Details of the New SSRI Antidepressant Birth Defect Study

The Swedish study was completed by evaluating more than 1.6 million births. These births took place in five Nordic counties. The study included almost 30,000 pregnant mothers who had reportedly filled SSRI antidepressant prescriptions. The researchers found the following results, according to the AFP:

• 1.79% of mothers exposed to SSRI antidepressants had higher rates of stillbirth (4.62 versus 3.69 per 1,000) and postneonatal death (1.38 versus 0.96 per 1,000) than those who did not.
• Of the group evaluated there were 1,633,877 single births, 6,054 stillbirths, 3,609 neonatal deaths and 1,578 postneonatal deaths.

However, these rates that were slightly higher were evidently not attributed to the actual consumption of SSRI antidepressants, which is where some of the skepticism comes in. The study attributed these higher rates to the underlying psychiatric disease and how severe it was in each case. Depression was the typical psychiatric disease being treated.

The author of the SSRI birth defect study that was led by Olof Stephansson of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm said that the study “suggests that SSRI use during pregnancy was not associated with increased risks of stillbirth, neonatal death, or postneonatal death.” The author went on to say, “However, decisions regarding use of SSRIs during pregnancy must take into account other perinatal outcomes and the risks associated with maternal mental illness.”

The pregnant women evaluated in the study were from Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Finland and Norway. The data was taken from different period between 1996 and 2007.

Concerns Expressed By Medical Community Regarding SSRI Antidepressant Birth Defect Study

There have already been concerns that have been voiced regarding the SSRI antidepressant study. One expert that is based in the United States expressed his concerns regarding the study that was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association recently. Adam Urato is the assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Tufts University School of Medicine was reporting in saying, “This study looked at information on dispensed drugs, not ingested drugs, and these numbers are often quite different.” He went on to say, “I don’t find the study results particularly reassuring.”

There is another concern that has yet to be addressed regarding this study and that is the fact that the study only seems to report on the number of deaths in association to the SSRI antidepressants. There is no mention of the babies that were born with birth defects that went on to live but had to do so with the number of birth defects SSRI antidepressants have been linked to in the past. If the study truly didn’t cover such information this is going to be an obvious point of contention when it comes to the many pending SSRI antidepressant birth defect lawsuits that have been filed.

Obviously it is too early to know how of if this study is going to affect the large number of SSRI birth defect lawsuits that are already pending and those who have yet to be filed. However, it is likely that if the study was not thorough in covering all avenues, including the infants that survived despite their birth defects. SSRI antidepressant birth defect attorneys will have a strong argument that SSRIs still caused the birth defects in those situations based upon a number of other SSRI antidepressant studies confirming such information.
 
Previously, SSRI antidepressants have been linked to a number of birth defect side effects including neonatal withdrawal syndrome, congenital anomalies, and persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. If you or someone you know had a child with a birth defect and the mother took SSRI antidepressants during the pregnancy you may be eligible to file a SSRI antidepressant birth defect lawsuit. Visit the Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, Lexapro & Prozac SSRI Antidepressant Birth Defect Class Action Lawsuit Investigation page to provide your information and receive a free consultation.