Effexor and Milestone Delays
Research continues to be done into the link between prenatal exposure to antidepressants in the SSRI or SNRI class (such as Effexor and Effexor XR) and the development of birth defects or difficulties. The newest information comes from a recent Danish study that observed 904 pregnant women. Four hundred and fifteen of the women in the study took Effexor and similar antidepressants, while the remaining 489 did not. This divided the group roughly in half, which is a useful benchmark in any study.
According to the researchers following the cases, the study did suggest that antidepressants taken during pregnancy did in fact have an effect on fetal brain development. They added the caveat that as with all such studies, more time will provide more information, as well as better understanding of what this could mean for public health in general.
The FDA has moved Effexor and related medicines into the C category, indicating that there is strong evidence that suggests a connection between the medicine and the formation of birth defects. While not demonstrated conclusively by FDA standards, the relationship is strong enough to warrant at least some packaging warning.
There are a number of different birth defects that have been proposed as having a relationship to antidepressant intake during pregnancy, including cardiac defects such as an incomplete valve arch, pulmonary defects such as persistent pulmonary hypertension, brain and spinal cord defects of the neurosystem, craniosynotosis or a malformed skull that is too big or small. Others include Omphalocele, a condition in which the abdominal wall is malformed and the inner organs are partially exposed, clubbed foot, cleft lip or palate, or even anal atresia (where the anus is partially or even completely fused).
None of these conditions can be dismissed. Each one has a direct and long-lasting impact on children and families affected by them, both emotionally and financially.
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