Did You Take Wellbutrin, Bupropion or Zyban
While Pregnant Resulting in a Birth Defect?

Buproprion / Wellbutrin Research

A  study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology had found that bupropion – sold as an antidepressant under the name Wellbutrin and as a stop-smoking aid under the name Zyban – was associated with an increased risk of cardiac birth defects.

The study examined 12,700 U.S. babies born between 1997 and 2004. Of those, 6,853 infants had been born with a major heart defect and 5,869 infants with no defect. Among the babies with a defect, 0.5 percent of the mothers reported using bupropion in the month prior to pregnancy or in their first trimester.
Ten cases involved left outflow tract heart defects. A left outflow tract defect disrupts blood flow from the heart’s left chambers to the rest of the body. Those born to mothers who took bupropion in early pregnancy experienced a more than double risk for this specific heart defects versus babies whose mothers did not take the drug. The study found that the most common form of this defect was coarctation of the aorta, or a narrowing of the body’s main artery. In children, this defect necessitates surgical correction.

Since 2005, information has been emerging that certain selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, may cause birth defects, including cardiac (heart), pulmonary (lung), neural-tube defects (brain and spinal cord), craniosynostosis (abnormally shaped skull) infant omphalocele (abdominal wall defects), club foot (one or both feet turn downward and inward), and anal atresia (complete or partial closure of the anus).

Maternal use of bupropion and risk for congenital heart defects

Presented at the 49th Annual Meeting of the Teratology Society in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, June 27–July 1, 2009, and at the 25th International Conference of Pharmacoepidemiology and Therapeutic Risk Management in Providence, Rhode Island, August 16-19, 2009.

Study design
We conducted a retrospective case-control study of birth defects risk factors. Data on 6853 infants with major heart defects were compared with 5869 control infants born in 1997–2004. Bupropion exposure was defined as any reported use between 1 month before and 3 months after conception.

Results
Mothers of infants with left outflow tract heart defects were more likely to have reported taking bupropion than mothers of control infants (adjusted odds ratio, 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.2–5.7; P = .01).

Conclusion
We identified a positive association between early pregnancy bupropion use and left outflow tract heart defects; however, the magnitude of the observed increased risk was small. Nevertheless, further studies are needed to confirm these results.

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Was your child injured by Wellbutrin?

• Spina Bifida
• Heart Defects
• Lung Defects
• Neural-Tube Defects
• Craniosynostosis
• Omphalocele
• Anal Atresia
• Clubbed Foot Birth Defects

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