There is nothing on this earth more valuable than your child. The feeling of holding your child for the first time is an amazing experience beyond words. We all want the best for our children but new research shows that drugs intended to help moms may cause a fatal condition in infants. Every year 12-18 million Americans are treated with anti-depressants. Zoloft, Prozac, and Paxil are some of the common ones as they often appear in advertising. Those anti-depressants are just a few examples of a large class of drugs known as SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) which aim to correct neurological chemical imbalances. Those kinds of drugs were recently linked to the dangerous condition, Pediatric Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension when they were taken as the mother was pregnant. The condition causes the Pulmonary artery, which is responsible for blood flow to the lungs, to constrict which significantly elevates blood pressure. This can create fatal conditions if it is not treated properly. According to the study, mothers who had taken SSRIs during the last half of their terms had a significantly increased rate (6x the average) of having their children develop the disease. The condition is estimated to affect 2-6 children per 1,000 live births a year with speculation that it accounts for a large percentage of neonatal deaths. Treatment varies based on the severity of the condition. Daily medication and constant monitoring of the child is required but in more severe cases, children may be required to wear external devices to deliver medicine. If you are on anti-depressants and are pregnant or plan to have a child, please contact your doctor. Note: This article is not meant to infer a patient doctor relationship. Please direct all questions or health concerns to your physician. |
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