If you believe you've suffered harm from Lexapro®, contact our attorneys for an evaluation of your case. We are available to investigate Lexapro® birth defects lawsuits on behalf of affected infants whose mothers took Lexapro® during pregnancy. Potential injuries include heart defects.
Lexapro® (generic name, escitalopram) is a medication to treat anxiety in adults and major depressive disorder in adults and adolescents who are at least12 years old. It is among a group of drugs known as serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Serotonin is one of the body's chemicals that affect mood. People with reduced levels of serotonin in the brain are often depressed or anxious.
According to the Lexapro® package insert required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), when the fetus is exposed to SSRIs, including Lexapro®, the newborn may be at an increased risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN).
In newborns with PPHN, the normal method of getting oxygen into the blood hasn't made the transition from the way the fetus' blood was oxygenated. Fetal blood is oxygenated by the blood the fetus receives through the umbilical cord attached to the mother's placenta.
Babies' lungs don't begin to work, oxygenating the blood, until they are born. In other words, in the PPHN fetus, blood flow bypasses the lungs. In newborns whose blood and lungs don't make this important transition from fetal to newborn circulation, organs such as the brain, kidneys, or liver and other body tissues that need oxygen start to become stressed.
In the general population, PPHN occurs in about one to two infants per 1,000 live births. The condition is associated with a substantial risk of severe illness and death in the newborn.
A retrospective case-control study compared 377 women whose babies were born with PPHN and 836 women with healthy infants. The data showed that the risk for developing PPHN was about six times higher for infants whose mothers took SSRIs after the 20th week of pregnancy than for mothers who took no antidepressants during their pregnancy. This was the first study of its kind at the time the results were reported.
If you or someone you love has given birth to a baby with PPHN after taking Lexapro® during her pregnancy, you may want to contact a Lexapro® birth defects lawyer. Our attorneys have experience filing lawsuits to recover damages that families with PPHN infants suffer.
Contact us to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.