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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.
Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
Ingestion of Wellbutrin during pregnancy could cause hypoplastic left heart syndrome in your child. The most common forms of heart malformation that can lead to neonatal death are hypoplastic left-heart syndrome, and transposition of the great vessels. Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome is a congenital condition of the heart in which the left ventricle is malformed and very small. Hypoplastic means underdeveloped. The left ventricle of the heart and the beginning of the main artery to the body (the ascending aorta) do not develop normally and are very small. As a result, oxygenated blood returning from the lungs cannot pass through the heart to the body except through the ductus arteriosus. The ductus arteriosus is an artery which goes between the main artery to the lungs (the pulmonary artery) and the arch of the aorta. When a baby is in the womb, this is the normal way for the blood to go and so hypoplastic left-heart syndrome does not cause major problems before birth. However, once the baby is born, the ductus may close at any time, usually within one or two days. There is then no way in which oxygenated blood can get to the body. When the ductus starts to close, a baby with this condition will deteriorate very rapidly and will die unless treated.
In this condition the pulmonary artery, which carries deoxygenated blood to the lungs, and the aorta, which carries oxygenated blood round the body, are crossed over and come out of the wrong sides of the heart. This creates two completely separate circulatory systems in which the blood to and from the lungs all flows into the left-hand side of the heart. No oxygenated blood can flow to the organs in the rest of the body. While the baby is in the womb this does not matter because the baby does not depend on oxygen from his or her lungs, and the foramen ovale and the ductus arteriosus allow blood to circulate around the whole circulatory system. However, once the baby is delivered and begins to breathe on its own, the foramen ovale and the ductus arteriosus close. Unless there are other ways for the blood to get through, no oxygenated blood can flow around the baby’s body. In many cases, an emergency operation can now be successfully carried out to allow the baby’s blood to flow around the body, but some babies with this condition still die.
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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