A recent study, published in the March 5 online edition of the Archives of General Psychiatry, found that babies born to women who took selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy had small heads and normal size bodies, indicating a problem with brain development. If you believe that you child has been harmed by an SSRI, please talk to a birth defect attorney right away.

Researchers at the Sophia Children’s Hospital and Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands studied nearly 8,000 pregnancies. Women with untreated depression gave birth to babies with reduced body and head size. Women who took SSRIs gave birth to babies with more greatly reduced head size and normal body size.

Reduced head size in babies four weeks old and under can be a predictor for psychiatric and behavioral problems in the future.

Head circumference can be an indicator of brain weight. Serotonin plays a significant role in prenatal brain development. SSRIs alter serotonin levels. This may be why babies of women who took SSRIs during pregnancy have smaller heads, but that has not yet been researched.

If you or someone you love has been injured by birth defect, please call our birth defect attorney at 1-877-LOSS-RECOVER (567-7732) or submit an online questionnaire. The initial consultation with a birth defect attorney is free of charge, and if we agree to handle your case, in most cases we will work on a contingency fee basis, which means we get paid for our services only if there is a monetary recovery of funds. In many cases, a personal injury lawsuit must be filed before an applicable expiration date, known as a statute of limitations. Please call right away to ensure that you do not waive your right to possible compensation.