SSRI Antidepressants and Pregnancy: Serious Birth Defect Dangers

SSRI Antidepressants and Pregnancy: Serious Birth Defect Dangers
Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is a rare and sometimes fatal disease that has been associated with maternal antidepressant use during pregnancy. Babies with PPHN have extremely high pressure in their lung blood vessels( full /0 and are not able to get enough oxygen into their bloodstream. PPHN is a life-threatening disease that requires immediate treatment.


Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs are the most common medications used to treat depression, anxiety, and certain personality disorders because of their efficacy and safety profiles. They include drugs like Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, Fluvoxamine, Paxil, Zoloft, and Symbyax.

However, the safety of SSRIs is compromised when taken by pregnant women because SSRIs can cross the placenta and enter the fetal bloodstream. SSRIs have been associated with neonatal complications such as neonatal abstinence syndrome from experiencing withdrawal of the drug, and persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN).

In December 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning stating that exposure to paroxetine (the generic name for Paxil) in the first trimester of pregnancy may increase the risk for congenital malformations, particularly cardiac malformations.

An earlier study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found an increased risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) in babies of mothers who used certain commonly prescribed antidepressants in late pregnancy. Other studies awaiting final publication have shown a 2-fold increased risk of having a baby with a heart defect for mothers who used Paxil early in their pregnancy.

Medical experts report that paroxetine exposure is especially harmful in the first trimester because fetal heart development occurs early in pregnancy. The most critical period in development is between three and seven weeks after fertilization, when a heart tube assumes the shape of a 4-chambered heart.