Zoloft Use Linked to Premature Birth

Adding to a long list of serious birth defects such as clubbed foot, cleft palate and persistent pulmonary hypertension, the use of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Zoloft during pregnancy can cause another very serious risk to a fetus: premature birth. Additional studies corroborate this. A 2009 University of Pittsburgh Medical Center study found an increased risk in premature birth with the use of such medications.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh studied 200 pregnant women. Half of those women suffered from depression and half of that 100 took an SSRI throughout the duration of pregnancy. The results showed that 23 percent of the women who took SSRIs during pregnancy gave birth to premature babies. The study came on the heels of a 2006 U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning indicating the incidence of increased risk associated with the use of such medications while pregnant.

Similarly, a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology by an Ottawa high-risk obstetrician reported that in addition to risks of low birth weight and infant seizures, the use of SSRIs could increase the risk of premature birth by as much as 20 percent.

Premature birth can put an infant at risk to develop a number of conditions, including learning disabilities, mental retardation and cerebral palsy.

The process of demanding compensation for the harm you’ve suffered (caused by a defective product manufactured by a blameworthy company) can be complicated, even if it doesn’t seem fair that you should have to go through even more trouble to be made whole again. The Zoloft lawyers at the Rottenstein Law Group believe that getting satisfaction from the company that harmed you shouldn’t be just more hardship. That’s why we do everything we can to streamline the process, and we will file a Zoloft lawsuit on your behalf if necessary. If you have taken Zoloft and experienced adverse side effects, contact RLG today.