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Wellbutrin is commonly prescribed to women who are or may become pregnant for several reasons, including as an antidepressant SSRI aid and as a smoking cessation pill. Regardless of the reason, women who take this drug may experience a greater than average risk of infant child birth defects, including but not limited to heart defects, cleft palate, cleft lip, skeletal deformations and more. If your child experienced such a horrific side effect, please call us today for a free case evaluation on how we can help.
The Problem
Our firm is offering free nationwide case evaluations to families whose children were diagnosed with medical conditions at birth or shortly therafter when the mother ingested Wellbutrin or Bupropion during pregnancy. Specific birth defects include cardiac malformations (ASD, VSD, Left Hypoplastic Heart Syndrome, coarctation of the aorta, Tricuspid or Pulmonary Atresia, Pulmonary Stenosis, transposition of the great vessels or any other heart defect), neural tube defect, craniosynostosis, cleft lip, cleft palate, skeletal deformations, and club foot.
About Wellbutrin
Wellbutrin is an antidepressant drug prescribed to treat major depressive disorder, also called major depression and clinical depression, and seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression involving adverse side effects that occur each year during the same season. First approved by the FDA in 1985, bupropion hydrochloride was available for several years only under the brand name Wellbutrin. In 1996, the FDA approved a sustained-release tablet of this drug called Wellbutrin SR and, in 2003, approved an extended-release tablet known as Wellbutrin XL.
Wellbutrin carries a Pregnancy Category C classification, meaning that animal reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus but that no adequate or well-controlled studies in humans have been performed.
Wellbutrin has been linked to congenital heart defects. Congenital heart defects affect approximately 40,000 babies each year, and one of the primary known causes of such birth defects is the ingestion of teratogenic drugs during pregnancy. A teratogen is a drug or other substance capable of interfering with the development of a fetus that can ultimately result in serious birth defects.
Infant Heart Defects
Ingestion of Wellbutrin during pregnancy could cause infant heart defects.
A fetus acquires its blood oxygen and disposes of carbon dioxide through its umbilical cord. So the circulation of blood through the lings is unnecessary. Until birth the function of the heart is to pump blood from the inferior vena cava which carried oxygenated blood from the umbilical cord to the aorta which distributes the blood through the body. Accordingly the lungs are switched out of the circuit of blood by a valve that directs incoming blood from the right atrium to the left atrium. At birth this “short circuit” normally ceases to function and the interatrial valve heals up as the lungs assume their role in oxygenating blood and eliminating carbon dioxide.
In some cases however the interatrial valve fails to heal completely, so that a proportion of the blood that arrives at the right atrium passes to the other side of the heart rather than following the normal course through the right ventricle and thence to the lings. This is one of several abnormal heart conditions that arise because the connections in the fetus fail to rearrange completely for the normal function of the heart outside the womb. Collectively these conditions are described as congenital meaning with birth and they have various degrees of impact on the ability to lead a healthy active life.
In another congenital heart defect, a passage that connects the pulmonary artery to the aorta fails to close at birth. The proportion of blood that reaches the lungs is so small that the baby becomes filly deoxygenated. This condition is called blue baby syndrome because of the abnormal coloration caused by dark blue deoxygenated blood. This condition is life threatening but can often be remedied by emergency surgery.
Such a condition may cause surgery, lifetime defects or death.
Getting Legal Help
If your child is born with a birth defect and you had been prescribed Wellbutrin during pregnancy, you may have a claim for compensation. You may be eligible for compensation for the medical expenses for the treatment of your child and also compensation for your mental sufferings.
If you or a loved one took Wellbutrin during early pregnancy and had a child born with a birth defect, this side effect may be associated with Wellbutrin. Members of our firm are currently reviewing potential Wellbutrin lawsuits. If you have a question or have suffered serious side effects, a Wellbutrin lawyer can be reached by email or by calling TOLL FREE 1-800-632-1404.
Members of our firm are attorneys currently representing clients who have taken several prescription drugs and claim injuries associated with those drugs, including Topamax®, Wellbutrin®, Fosamax®, and Actos®. They and members of the firm also represent clients across the globe pertaining to medical device failures, including theAdvanced Bionics HiRes90k® cochlear implant , the TVM / TVT transvaginal mesh – sling and the DePuy hip implant. For a free case evaluation, please contact:
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