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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.
Craniostenoisis
Ingestion of Wellbutrin during pregnancy could cause craniostenosis. Craniostenosis or craniosynostosis is the premature closure of the flat bones of the skull while the brain is still growing in size. This results in pressure on the brain and if untreated will cause mental handicap. It may be associated with an unusual facial appearance depending on the bones affected but if the majority of the bones fuse together the result is called acrocephaly or oxycephaly. An operation is required to separate the bones and to reduce the pressure on the brain.
The symptoms of craniosynostosis include disappearance of the fontanelle early, unusual head shape, absence of the normal feeling of a “soft spot” (fontanelle) on the newborn’s skull, a raised hard ridge along the affected sutures and slow or no increase in the head size over time as the baby grows.
Craniostenosis usually implies that the sutures of the human skull, which are normally about 80 percent closed by two to three years of age, begin instead to close at nine to ten months of age. At this developmental time (under normal conditions) the growing brain is literally pushing the overlying, and still very mobile, skull to ever greater expansion. If the sutures close prematurely, the rapidly enlarging brain begins to fill a closed cranial vault with resulting secondary pressure and atrophy of the underlying brain. Neurosurgical intervention involves crushing the suture lines, placing strips of platinum or polyethylene in the suture lines, and allowing this material to remain in place until the child is almost three years of age.
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, Wellbutrin lawyer Ed Wallis 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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