|
Pregnant women and those who might become pregnant
should avoid taking the antidepressant Paxil because
of a high risk of birth defects, according to a committee
of obstetricians who published their opinion in the
December 2006 issue of the journal Obstetrics &
Gynecology.
The obstetric practice committee of the American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said pregnant
women should not take Paxil because two previous studies
found that the drug posed up to double the risk of
heart defects in fetuses.
Nearly a year ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) and GlaxoSmithKline -- which makes Paxil --
changed the warnings on the drug to include the results
of the studies. The FDA then advised pregnant women
to merely switch from Paxil to another SSRI drug,
such as Prozac or Zoloft.
The FDA's enhanced warning on Paxil followed the
results of a review of Sweden's birth registry that
found pregnant women who took Paxil were 1.5 to 2
times more likely to give birth to a baby with heart
defects than women who took other SSRIs or who did
not take antidepressants at all.
Neonatal withdrawal symptoms from Paxil have also
been documented from mothers taking Paxil during pregnancy.
|
