A study from Canada suggests that using Zoloft during pregnancy can lead to birth defects that include those that affect the heart and the skull. This is the latest in a growing number of Zoloft studies that have reached this result. The study involves the use of Zoloft during the first trimester of pregnancy. This is a particularly dangerous time because many women do not realize that they are even pregnant until weeks into their pregnancies if not longer. At that point, according to the study, it’s possible that the damage possibly caused by Zoloft has already been done.
About the Zoloft Study
The study was done by researchers in Quebec. A link to the abstract of the study can be found here. The researchers reviewed data relating to nearly 18,500 pregnancies between the years of 1998 and 2010. All of the pregnancies involved expecting mothers who were dealing with depressed or anxious pregnancies. For purposes of analysis, these pregnancies were divided into three different groups:
- Women who used Zoloft during the early stages of their pregnancies
- Women who were given other medications belonging to the same class of drugs as Zoloft
- Women who were not given any medication for their conditions
What the study found was that the women who had used Zoloft during the early stages of their pregnancies faced an increased risk of heart-related birth defects by a factor of 30 percent when compared to women who did not take any medication. Those who used Zoloft also faced more than double the risk of having children with brain or skull-related defects when compared to those who took no medication.
About Zoloft
Zoloft is manufactured by Pfizer, and it was originally released under its current name in 1991 after being approved by the FDA. Zoloft is a member of a class of drugs known as SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Zoloft has been used, and has since been approved additionally, to treat the following conditions:
- Depression
- Panic disorder
- Social anxiety disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD
- Post-traumatic stress syndrome or PTSD
Alleged Zoloft Side Effects
Unfortunately, reports of alleged Zoloft side effects eventually began to surface. Several studies have been published in recent years that specifically indicate that the risk of using Zoloft during the early stages of pregnancy is quite high for the child. Sadly, a large number of children were born with debilitating birth defects after their mothers had used Zoloft during the first trimesters of their pregnancies.
This led to the filing of hundreds of Zoloft lawsuits around the United States, and studies like the one most recently published have been used as evidence during these cases. If you or someone you love has been harmed as a result of using this medication, you need to seek the help of Zoloft birth defects lawyers who have been standing up for the rights of consumers for years. Contact Parilman & Associates today to schedule a free initial consultation. You can either email the firm or call 800-800-DRUG.
