Zoloft is an antidepressant drug manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Its generic name is setraline. Media reports have it that when Zoloft was out on the market, it quickly became one of the largest-selling, globally available antidepressant drugs . However, there are new findings that suggest
some patients who take antidepressants like Zoloft receive no medical benefits from the drug compared to placebos. Various medical researchers and specialists have been constantly reporting different Zoloft side effects.
One major side effect of Zoloft was found in the number women who were prescribed with the drug during the first trimester of pregnancy; their newborns suffered from congenital birth defects and their mothers have had withdrawal symptoms that made them suffer for days, weeks or even years after giving birth.
The studies have concluded that Zoloft causes a wide range of birth defects specifically cardiac malformations, such as atrial septal defects and ventricular septal defects. These usually happen when the mother took Zoloft during the first trimester of pregnancy, during which the babys heart was still developing in the womb. Another severe side effect is persistent pulmonary hypertension of the Newborn (PPHN), which is equivalent to high blood pressure in babies lungs. PPHN can be extremely severe and may lead to death in some cases. Other alleged Zoloft-associated defects include limb abnormalities and craniosynostosis, in which the skull is deformed. These defects can be very serious. While some defects can heal on their own, others cannot and may even lead to additional surgical operations and further complications. Breathing difficulties, low blood sugar, vomiting, irritability, tremors and seizures may also be experienced by babies.
According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) public health Advisory:
FDA is advising health care professionals to discuss the potential risk of birth defects with patients taking Zoloft who plan to become pregnant or are in their first three months of pregnancy. Health care professionals should consider discontinuing Zoloft (and switching to another antidepressant if indicated) in these patients. In some patients, the benefits of continuing Zoloft may be greater than the potential risk to the fetus. The FDA is advising health care professionals not to prescribe Zoloft in women who are in the first three months of pregnancy or are planning pregnancy, unless other treatment options are not appropriate.
Due to the above-stated birth defects, Pfizer was ordered by the FDA to change the pregnancy category of Zoloft from C to D. The D categorys meaning is that research done in pregnant women showed that the medicine puts the fetus in danger. Medical experts point out that it is with utmost importance to appropriately determine the timing and type of medications prescribed for pregnant women and even those who are still suspecting pregnancy. Pfizer has been already charged with Zoloft lawsuit by the affected patients for the damages caused by the drug.
