Antidepressants and Omphalocele


by Robert Hilley - Date: 2007-03-25 - Word Count: 501 Share This!

Paxil is a brand name of the drug paroxetine and is an example of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI for short). These are a special class of drugs that are specifically designed to manipulate the serotonin levels in the human brain and for this reason are useful in treating a variety of emotional and psychological conditions such as depression, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. While this is not a full list, it is a list of the most common conditions that Paxil and drugs like it are prescribed to treat. Paxil is manufactured by the GlaxoSmithKline Company and upon its initial release into the market, the company was extremely happy and very encouraged by the great positive response that they received. All was not well however and eventually studies started to show an alarming dark side of the Paxil drug. Studies found that pregnant women that had taken Paxil during their pregnancy (and especially during the first trimester of their pregnancy) gave birth to infants that possessed some terrible birth defects; congenital heart defects were common such as atrial and ventricular septal problems and in addition to that conditions like omphalocele and craniosyntosis were also observed.

Omphalocele

Omphalocele is a term given to a type of birth defect in a child. This birth defect affects the abdominal wall of a developing fetus where that abdomen meets the umbilical chord. An infant born with Omphalocele will have a very small abdominal area, because many of its organs will have impacted out into the fetal sack. This is obviously extremely dangerous to the baby and unless the organs are replaced immediately (something that can be difficult to do because of the much smaller abdominal cavity) the child could end up dying. Omphaloceles come in two varieties; large and small and each has a different set of difficulties associated with it. In both cases however, surgery is the only solution to an Omphalocele complication. This makes things difficult as the already delicate physiology of a child is sometimes not able to withstand the physical rigors of major surgery. Small Omphaloceles have the potential to become infected and damage the tissue of the infant and as such these must be dealt with as soon as possible, meaning that sometimes the Doctor might be willing to put the baby under the stress of surgery earlier than in other circumstances. Large Omphaloceles give the physician more time to use to their advantage as they can wait for the infant to stabilize before they jump into the surgery. The best way to avoid Omphalocele complications as well as any other birth defects is to not put yourself in the position where you would have to worry about them. This means not taking any kinds of SSRI drugs during a pregnancy. In any case, for more information regarding Paxil and possible complications that might arise from its use, please consult your physician or other trained medical professional.


Related Tags: warning, paxil, omphalocele, abdominal birth defects, side effect

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