Rottenstein Law Group Acknowledges Research Showing SSRIs are Linked to Pre-Term Births

(New York, NY, March 21, 2012) The Rottenstein Law Group, which represents clients with claims stemming from birth defects caused by the antidepressant Zoloft, has learned of research showing that the fetuses of pregnant women who took a drug in the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) class to treat their depression were twice as likely to be born pre-term as the fetuses of both non-depressed pregnant women and the fetuses of women with depression that was left untreated. The study that produced these findings was published in the March 12, 2012 online edition of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
Using ultrasound equipment, the study’s researchers tracked the development of fetuses of more than 7,600 pregnant women, all of whom fell into one of three groups: (1) not-depressed; (2) depressed and taking SSRIs during pregnancy; or (3) depressed but not taking SSRIs (i.e., suffering from untreated depression).
The study was also one of the first to track the effect of SSRIs on fetal head development, an important factor since small head size in infants has been linked to behavioral problems and poor cognitive performance later in life. The fetuses of the study subjects who took SSRIs to treat their depression were significantly more likely to have delayed head growth than the fetuses of their not-depressed counterparts. The fetuses of women with untreated depression were significantly more likely to have reduced head growth too, however.
“The researchers note that although treating depression during pregnancy in highly important, ‘high quality studies with good controls’ about the effect of SSRIs on an unborn child’s health ‘are sparse,’” writes Deborah Brauser, author of an article about the study that appears on MedScape.com.
Brauser further quotes the study’s researchers: “’Thus, trying to balance the possible negative consequences of untreated maternal depression with the unknown potential negative consequences of SSRIs remains an open debate,’ they write.”
The Rottenstein Law Group’s  Zoloft Lawsuit Information Center contains social media features that allow for easy sharing on sites like Facebook and Twitter, which enables visitors to spread the word about the potential dangers associated with Zoloft. The firm encourages visitors to link to its sites from their own blogs and Web sites to spread information about dangerous drugs and defective medical devices.
About the Rottenstein Law Group
The Rottenstein Law Group is a New York-based law firm that represents clients in mass tort actions. The firm was founded by Rochelle Rottenstein, a lawyer with over two decades of experience in compassionate representation of clients in consumer product injury, mass tort, and class action law suits. For more information, please visit their Web site, or call (888) 9-ROT-LAW.

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