We are lucky enough to live in a time where medications are available to treat every conceivable condition; sicknesses that would have once meant certain death are now able to be treated through the use of comprehensive medications. In fact, we have become quite accustomed to the fact that there is a pharmaceutical remedy for nearly every condition we may face; and so we take the medications that have been prescribed to us with little thought at all.

The fact of the matter is that some of these medications can cause problems in the form of dangerous side effects that we may not have considered. And until we are aware of all of these side effects we are taking medications with little understanding of the possibilities. Paxil®, for example, is an enormously popular medication taken by millions of people to treat depression and anxiety; a part of a group of drugs known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs). Paxil® has helped many people with little to no side effects under most circumstances. But, unfortunately, the possibility of side effects changes in light of pregnancy.

In fact, the taking of Paxil® during pregnancy has been shown to have a six-fold increase in the possibility of a woman giving birth to a child with PPHN - Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension in the Newborn.

PPHN is a dangerous condition that only affects newborn babies. Rather than the baby’s arteries expanding as they should do following birth, they remain constricted and blood is unable to flow to the lungs where the oxygenation process would normally occur. The result of PPHN can be respiratory distress and even respiratory failure, so prompt medical attention is critical for recovery.

While PPHN can be treated, it is more important that women and their medical practitioners are alerted to the connection of Paxil® and PPHN so that the condition can be avoided altogether.

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