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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.
Wellbutrin Information
Our team of Wellbutrin lawyers would like to report on some general information about Wellbutrin, and if you or your loved one has given birth to a child with a birth defect, including a heart defect, and you took Wellbutrin during pregnancy, we would be honored to discuss your situation.
Consumption of Wellbutrin during pregnancy can result in the baby being born with Down’s syndrome. Some babies may be born with Spina bifida.
Down’s syndrome
Down’s syndrome is a genetic defect that is apparent at birth. The baby is somewhat floppy, and there are characteristic features of the face and hands. Down’s syndrome children are usually easy to manage as infants. They are often rather placid. Development will be delayed once the child is old enough to walk and talk. A Down’s syndrome child will qualify for various programs for handicapped babies and other services from the time he or she is born. Special school will probably begin at three years of age. Some Down’s syndrome children can function in elementary school in a regular classroom. Most do not, and are placed in a special education setting.
Congenital heart disease
Some Down’s syndrome children have congenital heart disease and need surgery to correct it. Some defects are quite severe and some are actually fatal. Many of these children need glasses and some are visually impaired, even with glasses. Having the child’s eyes tested may be difficult for younger children, because they cannot cooperate with the testing. Hearing may also be abnormal.
Raising a Down’s syndrome child
Raising a Down’s syndrome child is difficult for any parent, but it is especially challenging for a substitute parent. At any age, the child will not be able to tell you much about his history and will not be able to understand the details of what you are trying to ask or tell him. It will require extra patience to work with this child, but the rewards are great. Most Down’s syndrome people are friendly and calm and pleasant family members. School will generally continue past the age of eighteen. Planning for this child, as he becomes an adult, will be very important.
Spina bifida
Spina bifida, a birth defect of uncertain origin, serves as an example. The spinous process, a portion of the vertebrae, is split in children with spina bifida and part of the spinal cord is malformed and may be extruded either into a blisterlike bag or outside it, if the bag has ruptured; hydrocephalus is common. Most frequently, such children are paralyzed and suffer from bladder and bowel infections, malfunction, or incontinence. It is not unusual for them to be mentally retarded. In the past, most spina bifida children died from meningitis after a short life because of the spinal cord’s continual exposure to infection. Today, however, medical technology can sustain the life of many children who previously would have died. Modern techniques include straightening the spine, closing the lesion, draining the hydrocephalus if one has developed, and eliminating infection through medical treatment. The result is that a large percentage of the children having spina bifida survive, but a large number of them are physically handicapped and mentally retarded.
If you would like more information in Wellbutrin claims for birth defects, please continue reading.
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.
Alleged Birth Defects
Anti-depressants have become a troubling subject when it comes to teenagers; however, some mothers are unfortunately giving birth to children with birth defects that may be connected to taking drugs called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibiters (SSRIs) during early pregnancy.
SSRI birth defects, which include heart problems, spina bifida, club foot, cleft pallet, and others, are causing concerning and leading to litigation filed against the makers of these dangerous drugs.
Complaints of SSRI birth defects have been identified since at least 2005 from women who ingested during early pregnancy, Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil, Prozac, and Wellbutrin while pregnant. SSRI drugs are generally used as anti-depressants or to stop smoking.
A New England Journal of Medicine study found that women who took SSRIs during third trimester were six times more likely to deliver babies born with primary pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) than those who did not take the SSRIs during their third trimester. PPHN is a lung disorder that restricts the arteries and causes blood pressure in the pulmonary artery of the heart to rise beyond control.
Symptoms of PPHN may include the following: heart murmurs, rapid heart rate, bluish skin, low blood oxygen levels, difficulty breathing diagnosing PPHN.
PPHN is a serious birth defect. Even after treatment, infants can be susceptible to heart failure, brain hemorrhage, seizures, kidney failure or organ damage. Some of these birth defects can be present throughout life or even fatal. Some infants who happen to survive PPHN nevertheless have long term breathing difficulties, seizures, developmental delays and hearing loss.
Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil, Prozac, Wellbutrin and Zyban are anti-depressants or smoking sensation drugs that have fallen under close scrutiny for use by expectant mothers. As consumers of prescriptions drugs, our society assumes that pharmaceutical companies test for the safety as well as the effectiveness of prescription medication. Unfortunately, there are and have been several drugs on the market that can cause injury, illness or even death. In these cases, the negligence of a pharmaceutical company may warrant a personal injury lawsuit.
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, includingTopamax®, 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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