Prenatal Exposure to SSRIs and Risk for Congenital Septal Heart Defects

In 2005, the FDA issued a warning about the risk for congenital heart defects with use of paroxetine during pregnancy. Findings from studies of risks from other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are inconsistent. Researchers used Danish nationwide registries to examine the association between SSRI use during the first trimester and congenital malformations.

Of nearly 500,000 singleton live births from 1996 through 2003, 1370 children were exposed to SSRIs between 28 days before and 112 days after conception, according to the mothers' filled prescription records. Children whose mothers filled prescriptions for insulin, antihypertensives, or other psychotropic medications were excluded. Overall, 0.9% of exposed children had septa…