An increase in the risk of serious birth defects in infants such as brain and spinal cord defects, as shown in several studies may make pregnant women cautious about continuing to take Zoloft, an antidepressant drug. Afterall, no mother would want her child to be born with a missing or misplaced body part or a damaged organ.

Zoloft, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) that increases serotonin levels in the brain, is manufactured by Pfizer, Inc. as a treatment for several disorders. Several studies linking the antidepressant drug Zoloft to various birth defects including a serious and potentially deadly effect on the infants’ heart prompted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue a warning regarding the intake of Zoloft during pregnancy.

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published a 2006 study which claims that women are six times more liable to give birth to an infant who have acquired a serious and potentially fatal circulatory condition called persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) if they take Zoloft while they are already on their 20th week of pregnancy. Another study in 2007 which was also published in the NEJM claims that pregnant women taking Zoloft or similar antidepressant drug were two times more likely to give birth to an infant with heart defects such as ventricular outflow defects and septal defects.

Researchers said that other than the heart defects, infants whose mothers took Zoloft during their pregnancy might suffer from craniosynostosis, a condition wherein an infant suffers a problem in the growth of the brain and skull; and omphalocele wherein an infant is born with parts of its intestines found outside the abdominal wall. Not only that, the study also showed that newborns could suffer other horrific birth defects that no mother would ever want their child afflicted with such as hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), Tetralogy of Fallot, cardiomyopathy, anencephaly, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), tricuspid stenosis, cleft mitral valve or bicuspid aortic valve.

Although the FDA released reports about the study of infants with PPHN, it did not require warnings about birth defects on any antidepressant except Paxil. In the wake of studies that connected Zoloft to many birth defects, the FDA did release warnings to urge mothers to take caution in taking the drug during pregnancy.

However, because pregnant women are liable to suffer from withdrawal symptoms after giving birth, they are advised to consult their doctors before deciding to no longer take Zoloft.