People who take medications regularly are instructed by their physicians to watch out for side effects and/or adverse reactions. The medical terminologies have been repeatedly interchanged but actually, the two have different meanings. Side effects are unwanted effects of the medication but they are expected to happen, whereas adverse effects are undesirable effects of the medication that are not foreseen to happen but can still possibly take place. Zoloft, an antidepressant medication, has been associated with birth defects when taken by pregnant women during pregnancy. Birth defects are under adverse effects for Zoloft. Warnings have been issued by the U.S. FDA on Zoloft and its connection with the development of birth defects but the depressed woman cannot just stop her medication as it there to manage her underlying condition. Exercise could be an effective second antidepressant but it might not suffice for some.
Zoloft better known with its generic name sertraline, belongs to the SSRI drug class of antidepressants. This is primarily given in patients with depression. A Pregnancy Category C classification is given by the FDA to Zoloft as it can be a risk to the fetus, however, its therapeutic effect may warrant its use. Some of the birth defects believed to be caused by Zoloft are:
• Heart Defects
Ventricular and atrial septal defects are some of the most common heart defects linked with Zoloft use.
• Clefts
Craniofacial anomalies such as cleft lip and palate are also believed to be caused by Zoloft in babies born to women who took the drug.
• Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension (PPHN)
A birth defect characterized by severe respiratory failure and difficulty by the new-born which would require close medical supervision and hospitalization.
• Delayed development
Zoloft has not only been identified with physical birth defects but with developmental delays as well. Babies born to women who took the medication when pregnant had developmental delays especially in walking and sitting upright.
• Neural Tube Defects
Neural tube defects are believed to be effects of taking the drug when pregnant.
These are some of the serious birth defects that can be considered as adverse effects of Zoloft and the sufferers have reportedly filed lawsuits with these Zoloft birth defects as basis.
