PAXIL: DOUBLE RATE OF BIRTH DEFECTS IN PREGNANT MOTHERS

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atracyphd2

Fri, 16 Sep 2005 11:54:16 EDT

[drugawareness] PAXIL: DOUBLE RATE OF BIRTH DEFECTS IN

PREGNANT MOTHERS

 

 

Australian authorities have just warned that mothers taking Paxil

(paroxetine) are going to be suffering far more depression as they

learn that the drug

they were taking to make them feel better has TWICE the chance of

producing a

birth defect in their unborn child. As a result the agency,

Therapeutic Goods

Administration (TGA - similar to our FDA), has reclassified Paxil from

a grade

C to a grade D drug - one that should be avoided during pregnancy.

 

The new warnings for Paxil and other SSRIs are spelled out in the

following

quote:

 

" Details from a preliminary analysis of GlaxoSmithKline data showed a

higher

incidence of congenital malformations, particularly ventricular septal

defects, in babies born to women taking the drug.

 

" Babies of women taking paroxetine in the first trimester of pregnancy

were

2.2 times more likely to be born with a congenital malformation and

2.08 times

more likely to have a cardiovascular malformation than those born to women

taking other antidepressants, the data showed.

 

" A second population-based Danish study found a 60% increase in cardiac

abnormalities among babies of mothers taking SSRIs. "

 

Now I will remind you that when you hear a warning about one drug in a

class

of drugs that are designed to work in the same way DO NOT EVER think

that just

because the drug you are taking is spelled differently and has a different

chemical makeup that the result may be different!! The thing is that

the drug

works in the same manner - the end result is the same, not different.

And the

definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and

expecting a different result.

 

Every time I see doctors take a patient reacting to one SSRI

antidepressant

and switch them to another and then another and yet another, as they

so often

do, I wonder why they think they are going to get a different

response. It is

insane! So when you hear a warning on one of these drugs expect to

sooner or

later hear similar warnings on the other antidepressants. Red flags

going up on

one of them should be a red flag for the others in the same class that

work in

a similar way. Paxil may have raised red flags first because it has a

stronger effect upon the reuptake of serotonin, but over time you will

get the same

effect with one not as strong. Because Celexa and Lexapro are even more

powerful on serotonin reuptake that should make them potentially more

deadly in

producing side effects yet, notice here that the doctor they have

interviewed to

defend the antidepressants has suggested that these drugs are safer.

 

Also please note that this agency has warned that Effexor be avoided

during

pregnancy due to the severe withdrawal the baby suffers. Other

warnings are

also listed on withdrawal in babies produced by the other antidepressants.

 

Dr. Tracy

______________________

 

Dr. Ann Blake Tracy, Executive Director,

International Coalition For Drug Awareness

www.drugawareness.org

Author of the " Bible on Antidepressants, " Prozac:

Panacea or Pandora? - Our Serotonin Nightmare

& audio " Help! I Can't Get Off My Antidepressant! "

(Order: 800-280-0730)

_________________________

 

 

 

 

http://news.australiandoctor.com.au/articles/41/0c036641.asp

 

 

First trimester antidepressant risk

 

15-Sep-2005

 

 

By Tony James

 

THE antidepressant paroxetine should be avoided during pregnancy

because it

may double the rate of birth defects, the Therapeutic Goods Administration

warns.

 

Details from a preliminary analysis of GlaxoSmithKline data showed a

higher

incidence of congenital malformations, particularly ventricular septal

defects,

in babies born to women taking the drug.

 

Babies of women taking paroxetine in the first trimester of pregnancy were

2.2 times more likely to be born with a congenital malformation and

2.08 times

more likely to have a cardiovascular malformation than those born to women

taking other antidepressants, the data showed.

 

A second population-based Danish study found a 60% increase in cardiac

abnormalities among babies of mothers taking SSRIs.

 

Although the link may not be causal, the TGA has reclassified

paroxetine from

a pregnancy category C drug to a category D drug, recommending it be

avoided

in pregnancy.

 

Responding to the findings, psychiatrist Associate Professor Anne Buist,

director of the beyondblue national postnatal depression program,

emphasised the

need to weigh up the risks of inadequately treated prenatal depression

against

the adverse effects of medications.

 

Ideally, antidepressants should be avoided in pregnancy, but prenatal

depression can also be associated with difficulties in child rearing,

developmental

delays and later depression in the child, she said.

 

Although rare, maternal suicide is a leading cause of maternal death.

 

Data from thousands of women treated with fluoxetine suggested it might

increase the risk of premature birth, so on current evidence

sertraline (Zoloft) or

citalopram (Celapram, Cipramil) were probably the best choices when an

antidepressant was considered essential before or during pregnancy,

Professor Buist

said.

 

Venlafaxine (Efexor) should be avoided, because of withdrawal syndromes in

newborns and unsuitability while breastfeeding, she said. Generally, SSRIs

should be tapered especially those with a short half-life such as

paroxetine to

avoid a discontinuation syndrome unless immediately commencing another

SSRI.