Today, I found an article titled “Antidepressant use during pregnancy and the rates of spontaneous abortions: a meta-analysis.” that first appeared in the May, 2005 edition of The Annals of Psychopharmacology by M.E. Hemels et al., which attempted to determine “baseline rates of spontaneous abortions (SAs) [in the general population] and whether antidepressants increase those rates.”
The authors state “Rates of SAs in women taking antidepressants compared with non-depressed women were combined into a relative risk using a random effects model” and explain that “MEDLINE, EMBASE, Healthstar, Toxline, Psychlit, Cochrane database, and Reprotox were searched for studies published in any language from 1966 to 2003” to identify baseline and SSRI-exposed rates for spontaneous abortion.
Results showed that of “15 potential articles, 6 cohort studies of 3567 women (1534 exposed, 2033 nonexposed) provided extractable data,” and that “The baseline SA rate (95% CI) was 8.7% (7.5% to 9.9%; n = 2033). For antidepressants, the rate was 12.4% (10.8% to 14.1%; n = 1534), significantly increased by 3.9% (1.9% to 6.0%); RR was 1.45 (1.19 to 1.77; n = 3567).”
Just to be clear, this means that the background rate for spontaneous abortion was found to be about 8.7%, and the rate for spontaneous abortion in women using antidepressants was about 12.4%, increasing the risk for spontaneous abortion by 45%.
Because so many women have used SSRIs and other antidepressants in pregnancy unaware of this increased risk for spontaneous abortion, many SSRI birth defect lawsuits are being filed around the world. As such, if you or a loved one used SSRIs and gave birth to a child with a congenital malformation, who had perinatal complications, or faced spontaneous abortion, you and your family may be entitled to significant financial compensation. For a free, no-obligation case consultation, contact our team of SSRI birth defect lawyers at the information provided below. We have the experience, resources, and skills required to win the justice you deserve. Call today and see how we can help.
(855) 452 – 5529
Our SSRI Birth Defects Lawsuit Information page is a great place to start if you have any questions about SSRIs and Birth Defects.