Wellbutrin® Birth Defects
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If your baby is born with defects and you used Wellbutrin® as an antidepressant during your pregnancy, you should contact a Wellbutrin® birth defect attorney for help. Data shows that Wellbutrin® might increase a baby's chances of suffering birth defects if his/her mother takes the medication while pregnant.
What Are Birth Defects?
Birth defects are abnormalities a baby is born with. There are many causes for such abnormalities, but they often are related to some harm the pregnant mother suffers during her pregnancy. Different parts of the fetus' body develop during different times in the pregnancy. Damage done to the mother at the time a particular body part or organ is developing may interfere with the normal formation of that body part or organ.
Types of Birth Defects Linked to Wellbutrin®
Two heart abnormalities in the newborn have been linked recently to mothers who take Wellbutrin® in the early weeks of their pregnancies. This is a time when certain portions of the fetal heart are developing.
These abnormalities are called left outflow tract heart defects, and include the following:
- Coarctation of the aorta — This defect causes the body's major blood vessel leaving the heart, the aorta, to be narrowed. When this happens, the heart is required to pump much harder to send blood around body. While this occurs when the newborn is in utero, it may remain undetected, depending upon its severity, until the person becomes an adult.
- Hypoplastic left heart syndrome — This is a much more severe defect. When it occurs, the left side of the heart is extremely underdeveloped and too small to do its job, which must be assumed by the right side of the heart now having to both pump blood to the lungs and deliver it to the rest of the body. To save the infant's life, medication and heart surgery or a heart transplant are needed.
These two types of left outflow tract heart defects were reported to maybe be linked to the mother taking Wellbutrin® early in her pregnancy. The researchers published the results of their studies in a spring 2010 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Wellbutrin® and Pregnancy
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lists Wellbutrin® as a Category C pregnancy drug. This means that animal studies have indicated the drug can produce congenital defects, but no well-controlled human studies have yet been done to show damage.
Hire a Wellbutrin® Birth Defects Lawyer
If you have taken Wellbutrin® during your pregnancy and then delivered a newborn with birth defects, you should consult a Wellbutrin® birth defects lawyer for information about your legal rights. Our attorneys are available to investigate drug claims for families across the country. Contact us today for an evaluation of your case.
