Zoloft Birth Defects Lawsuits Growing in Number

One of the most tragic side effects of the SSRI drug Zoloft is the potential for Zoloft birth defects. Birth defects are most likely in women who have taken Zoloft or other SSRI drugs in the first trimester of pregnancy. Previously, the link between Zoloft and similar drugs and Zoloft birth defect lawsuit was thought to be minimal but it has more recently become clear that there are more serious problems associated with the medication than was previously thought.

Zoloft is a commonly-used treatment for depression, general anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, and a number of other conditions. These are relatively common conditions. Zoloft birth defect lawsuit is an SSRI drug, which means it works by inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin in the brain, allowing the “feel-good” chemical serotonin to work longer and harder in order to help a patient regulate his or her mood.
In recent years, there have been a number of lawsuits filed regarding Zoloft. Some patients are experiencing an increase in suicidal thoughts and some have even committed suicide. Because of this, patients and bereaved family members have been filing lawsuits, hoping to win damages that could help pay medical bills and cover other fees. 

Zoloft birth defects are a relatively newer discovery. They can include heart defects, persistent pulmonary hypertension of a newborn, brain defects, and abdominal defects. They can also include anencephaly, a serious condition that involves the fetus’ neural tube, a tube that during the course of fetal development becomes the brain and spinal cord. With anencephaly, the tube does not close completely, and as a result a portion of the brain, skull, and cap are absent. Babies with anencephaly are unable to feel pain, blind, deaf, and unconscious. They usually die within a few hours after birth, although some have been known to last days. There is no cure or treatment for anencephaly. 

Women who have taken an SSRI drug during their first trimester of pregnancy—when the neural tube forms and closes—were shown by a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine to be at 2.4 times higher risk of giving birth to a baby with anencephaly.