Paxil and Pregnancy Miscarriage & Heart Murmurs
I’ve been looking up some side effects of Paxil for my friend. I found a few interesting tidbits which related to my friends new side effects. He’s male, but I wanted to share this paxil news as it relates to the fairer gender. We can come back to his issues later.
I took seratonin meds when I was pregnant many years ago, but I never tried paxil, I was on Prozac – I had not even heard of Paxil back then (thank goodness?).
I found the following information from a government site and I believe it to be published as a reliable source:
BACKGROUND: Antidepressants have been commonly used by women of childbearing age. Recent studies suggest that paroxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), might specifically increase teratogenic risk.
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to quantify first-trimester exposure to paroxetine and birth defects and examine potential sources of bias in the in utero or postnatal detection of more congenital malformations among women with depression. We also sought to examine whether paroxetine was used for the same indications as other SSRIs among pregnant women.
In 1998, a GlaxoSmithKline internal review found a number of Paxil related pregnancy risks. Early results of two studies showed that women who took Paxil during the first trimester of pregnancy were about two times as likely to have a baby with a heart defect as women who received other antidepressants. Paxil is the only SSRI on the market that is classified by the FDA as a Category D drug. Category D means that studies in pregnant women have demonstrated a risk to the fetus/embryo.
Based on the results of this analysis, first-trimester exposure to paroxetine appears to be associated with a significant increase in the risk for cardiac malformation. Heart defects reported were atrial and ventricular septal heart defects (holes in the heart).
There has recently been an increase in study results on pregnancy and antidepressants; many focus on paroxetine, often with conflicting results.
GlaxoSmithKline was ordered to pay $2.5 million to the family of a child with a heart defect whose mother took paroxetine in the first trimester of pregnancy.
Data from the Quebec Pregnancy Registry for 5124 women who had miscarriages shows 284 (5.5%) of the women who had a spontaneous abortion had at least one prescription for an antidepressant filled during the pregnancy.
The use of SNRIs alone, and combined use of antidepressants from different classes resulted in higher risks for miscarriages (spontaneous abortion). Bottom line – The use of paroxetine, venlafaxine or combined classes indicated the highest risk.
Paxil Birth Defects | Paxil Miscarriage.
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