Wellbutrin birth defects have recently been brought to light by the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, which is funded by the CDC. These birth defects have most typically affected the heart, a problem known as a Left Outflow Cardiac Birth Defect.

Pregnant Women & Wellbutrin

Wellbutrin was specifically prescribed to women in the early stages of pregnancy, where major depression is common among women of reproductive ages, and especially to women trying to quit smoking as a result of the pregnancy. The availability of data regarding such treatments in pregnant women was extremely limited, leaving the safety highly speculative.

Bupropion Pregnancy Registry Created for Pregnant Women Using Wellbutrin

In 1997 GlaxoSmithKline created the Bupropion Pregnancy Registry to analyze the outcomes of pregnancies in which the expectant mother took Wellbutrin or Zyban. By March 31, 2008 GlaxoSmithKline determined that 3.6% of the infants born to mothers who took Wellbutrin or Zyban during the first trimester had birth defects. This was a limited, voluntary registry with just 675 participants, so the data may be inconclusive or even biased. Most of the reports were from clinicians providing care during the pregnancy so birth defects, such as Wellbutrin cardiac birth defects, not discovered shortly after birth may have been under reported. Wellbutrin heart birth defects were present in 1.3% of the pregnancies evaluated in the registry.

National Birth Defects Prevention Study

The National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS) is an ongoing case-control study of environmental and genetic risk factors for more than 30 categories of major birth defects, which is funded for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The NBDPS evaluated the linkage between Wellbutrin and Zyban (bupropion) use and cardiac birth defects on children born between October 1, 1997 and roughly December 31, 2004. The study looked at a total of 12,383 case infants, 6,853 of which were diagnosed with at least 1 of the 4 major categories of heart birth defects and 5,763 with 1 of the 6 categories of noncardiac birth defects that were studied. An additional 5,869 control infants were analyzed.

Wellbutrin Left Outflow Heart Birth Defects

The National Birth Defects Prevention Study found a positive link between Wellbutrin and Zyban use from one month before conception to three months after and cardiac birth defects. This was particularly true for infants with Left Outflow Heart Birth Defects.

Compensation for Those Suffering from Wellbutrin Birth Defects

If you or a loved one has had a child with a birth defect or experienced severe psychological or physical side effects after taking Wellbutrin, Zyban or generic bupropion, our team of Wellbutrin lawyers are experienced in battling pharmaceutical giants such as GlaxoSmithKline and have the expertise, experience and resources to handle the complex nature of Wellbutrin cases.