[obsids]

There was a vague article on yahoo news today about Paxil. Researchers apparently found a possible link between mothers taking paxil during pregnancy and a slight increase in the risk of birth defects including heart defects.

Has anyone else seen anything about this? It troubles me deeply, as I took Paxil throughout my entire pregnancy. Though, aside from kidney reflux, my daughter seems to be healthy and unaffected.

[Larry_Hoover]

I've been following closely the medical literature which describes adverse effects potentially attributable to antidepressant meds. There has been huge publicity of adverse effects from the SSRI drugs, with Paxil getting probably the greatest scrutiny of all. I think there are two important contextual considerations for interpreting this latest "news" about prenatal exposure to Paxil.

First, there are numerous published articles which have not found any teratogenic (birth defect inducing) effects from any of the SSRI meds. Scandinavian countries record massive amounts of personal data about their citizens, and searching those databases has not shown any birth defect whose incidence has increased because of first trimester exposure to antidepressants.

Second, the recent study which led to this warning about Paxil found only a very small difference in the incidence of heart defects in Paxil-exposed infants, compared to unexposed ones. By no means do I wish to trivialize any concern raised by this finding, but no similar studies have found anything like this before. This is a statistical difference, which could be nothing more than chance. When we say that two groups significantly differ, we also acknowledge the possibility that the difference is a fluke. They're looking into that, as we speak.

Moreover, the media scrutiny surrounding SSRIs has biased opinion to such an extent that objectivity is clouded. It is my belief that even the medical authorities are influenced by media focus on these drugs, and are acting out of exaggerated concern. There are birth defects associated with benzodiazepines, and a variety of anticonvulsants, and mood stabilizers. I don't see the same scrutiny being applied to these other drugs.

Also, depression itself is responsible for a variety of adverse outcomes in pregnancy.

Acknowledging reasonable concerns is one thing. Fear-mongering is quite another. I think this warning may have crossed the line.

Lar

[obsids]

Thanks, Larry.