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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.
Neural Tube Defect
Ingestion of Wellbutrin during pregnancy could cause neural tube defect in your child. Neural tube defect is the medical term for malformations of the spinal cord and the brain. The brain is a soft organ surrounded by membranes called meninges and enclosed within the skull. The spinal cord, also surrounded by meninges, leads out of the brain and down the spine. Both the brain and the spinal cord are bathed in cerebro-spinal fluid produced in the brain. The brain and the spinal cord known as the central nervous system or CNS control all the body’s activities.
A developing baby’s spinal cord and brain begin to form between fifteen and twenty-five days gestation and are called the neural tube. A groove forms along a flat sheet of cells which will eventually become the baby’s back. The two sides of the groove then meet across the top and join to form the brain, the spinal cord and the spinal column, which protects the vulnerable spinal cord. If the two sides of the spinal column do not meet and join properly, the spinal cord may be left incompletely developed, exposed and vulnerable. The brain may also not form properly. This causes what is called a neural tube defect.
Anencephaly is the most severe neural tube defect. In an anencephalic baby the upper part of the brain (cerebrum) and most of the lower part (cerebellum) do not develop during the first few weeks of pregnancy. Anencephaly means ‘without a brain’. The bones of the skull may also not form properly and the top of the baby’s head may be misshapen. Anencephaly is usually diagnosed in the womb by AFP tests or ultrasound. Some babies with anencephaly miscarry. A few are stillborn, and those who are born alive die within a few hours or days of birth.
If parents have had one baby with a neural tube defect, there is thought to be a one in 25 chance in each future pregnancy that the baby will have either spina bifida or anencephaly. If parents have had two babies with neural tube defects, the risk for future pregnancies increases to one in 7.
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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