Prozac® and Birth Defects

Prozac® also known as Fluoxetine, is an antidepressant that has been found to increase the risk of birth defects in newborns if their mothers took the drug during their pregnancy. If you are pregnant and thinking about taking Prozac®, you should speak with your doctor immediately about the potential risks.

If your child was born with a birth defect and you took Prozac® during your pregnancy, you should speak with an injury attorney that specializes in injuries caused by medications.  You could receive financial compensation for your baby’s injuries. To be contacted by an attorney specializing in birth defects caused y taking Prozac or other antidepressant drugs use the simple form on this page.

Prozac® and Heart Defects

The antidepressant Prozac® (Fluoxetine), belongs to the class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or “SSRIs.” As an SSRI, Prozac® manipulates the brain’s usage of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which has further impact on the brain’s release of other chemicals in the brain.

Like with other SSRIs there are a number of Prozac® side effects associated with its use, including the dangers of birth problems when taken during pregnancy. One common birth defect associated with antidepressants taken during pregnancy is heart defects.

Heart Defect Signs and Symptoms

There is no single heart defect connected with antidepressants and pregnancy, the symptoms of the birth problems, which range from infants being born with one or more holes in the heart to several types of severe congenital defects that require one or more surgeries to correct, if correction is possible. Another birth problem associated with Prozac® is a lung condition called persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPH).

Prozac® Abdominal and Cranial Defects

The association between Prozac® and birth defects is not limited to heart and lung defects, but can also cause serious physical development birth problems, including malformed abdomens and skulls.

An omphacele is an abdominal wall birth defect in which the baby’s internal organs, such as the intestines, grow outside the body in a sac. Unfortunately, treatment is not simply a matter of placing the organs back into the body because more often than not the abdomen has not grown large enough to accommodate them. It is a long and painful process to correct the condition.

Another rare, but serious, Prozac® side effect is called craniosynostosis. Craniosynostosis is a congenital (present at birth) defect that causes one or more of the fibrous joints (or sutures) in a baby’s skull to close earlier than normal.

The early closing of a suture leads to an abnormally shaped head that can cause pressure to grow in the skull that causes pain and, potentially, developmental delays, seizures, and brain damage. Symptoms of intercranial pressure include headache and vomiting. This birth complication, if left uncorrected can cause the eyes, nose, or jaw to not function properly.

Prozac Birth Defects

There are a variety of birth defects associated with Prozac. If your child has experienced any of the the following types of serious, life-threatening birth defects use the form on this page to receive more information about the possibility of receiving financial compensation from a Prozac lawsuit:

• Atrial Septal Defects (ASD) – also known as ‘hole in the heart’ defects
• Ventral or Ventricular Septal Defects (VSD) – hole in the heart wall
• Valve Problems – malformed or stuck and won’t close
• Tricuspid Valve (Ebstein’s Anomaly)
• Mitral Valve
• Transposition of the Great Arteries / Vessels
• Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF)
• Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS)
• Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome (HRHS)
• Tricuspid Atresia
• Aortic Stenosis
• Pulmonary Atresia
• Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA)
• Coarctation of the Aorta
• Truncus Arteriosus
• Tricuspid Valve Stenosis
• Heart Murmur
• Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn (PPHN)
• Pulmonary Stenosis
• Craniosynostosis – cranial skull defect
• Omphalocele – abdominal wall defect
• Gastroschisis – abdominal wall defect
• Esophageal Stenosis
• Club Foot
• Anal Atresia
• Spina Bifida