A widely prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor has been blamed for causing birth defects when taken by women during pregnancy. Consequences of expectant mother's taking certain SSRI's can be scary. Some women experience no ill effects, while others give birth to children with heart and lung problems, clubbed feet, neural tube defects, and spinal cord abnormalities. What a horrible situation to be in.
It's not easy knowing what's safe to take when you're expecting either.... I've been in that situation myself. As a mom who relies on a anti-anxiety medication, I have had the all too familiar argument with myself each time I find myself expecting. Believe it or not, I've been pregnant 8 times. We only have 2 children with us... the other 6 we miscarried. I'll never know if my choice to take anti-anxiety medication would have had a negative influence on any of these children's well being, but I did go through the mental and emotional battle of trying to decide whether or not to take the risk.
Often time doctors can't tell you how a medication might affect a fetus. They don't feel safe saying... "everything will be fine"... so they tell you things like, "not enough research is available". Talk about scary! What about drug manufactures? Do you ever wonder if they know more than they're sharing? I don't have any proof of such... and I'm not going to accuse anyone of anything, but when lawsuits start booming against large pharmaceutical brands, you do wonder if the claims of the victims can be substantiated. I've seen commercials on television for zoloft lawsuits, along with a phone number victims can call to gain legal representation.
Do you know anyone who has taken zoloft during pregnancy? Did they worry about possible damaging consequences to the health of the pregnancy or fetus? I'm of the opinion than any medication (even over-the-counter) has a bit of poison (for lack of a better word). Drugs are chemicals after all. They can make a world of difference for us... giving us better lives free of pain, chemical imbalances, hormonal problems, and such... however, it's hard to find a drug that doesn't have it's share of side-effects. Even Ibuprofen if taken too often can damage the body... and during certain stages of pregnancy is forbidden.
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