Birth Defects Associated With Antidepressants- HOMERO VILLARREAL INTERVIEWS

Birth Defects Associated With Antidepressants-
HOMERO VILLARREAL INTERVIEWS
Joe Flores, Attorney and Family Nurse Practitioner on This Devastating Phenomena Affecting Our Children and Families

“In this study, PPHN (Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn) was six times more common in babies whose mothers took an SSRI antidepressant after the 20th week of the pregnancy compared to babies whose mothers did not take an antidepressant. As healthcare prescriber I always underline that doctors and nurse practitioners prescribe drugs to their patients with trust that the FDA and the pharmaceutical companies will give us the appropriate warnings. They didn’t do this for our pregnant patients before the mid 2000’s and many women received an anti-depressant with sad results in the form of their babies having birth defects that were in my opinion, unjustified and needless.……” Joe Flores, Attorney and Board Certified FNP

El Defenzor- As a proud grandfather of a brilliant young boy I became deeply concerned about birth defects in children and the link between anti-depressants. I caught up with Joe Flores an attorney and nurse practitioner (FNP) when we began our probe of pharmaceutical companies who may have caused birth defects, and because of increasing reports of mothers who had been given antidepressants as a big selling point by pharmaceutical companies.
Joe Flores, nurse practitioner and attorney, recently was interviewed at his offices in downtown Corpus Christi and said this: "Most of us go through life not knowing the challenges that other families face. For instance, someone having a son or daughter with several birth defects is mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausting. Society has judged families because of their child’s disabilities instead of sympathizing with the challenges that the family faces daily. I’m committed to giving those families voices in and out of the courtroom through legal, political and medical outreach. As a lawyer and Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), I have taken care of thousands of people over the years and feel honored I can help people whose child has suffered because of a drugmaker".
El Defenzor- Homer Villarreal: Joe, what do we know about the link between birth defects and anti-depressants?

JOE FLORES, ATTORNEY AND FNP: Since September 2005, information has been emerging that certain antidepressants may cause birth defects, including cardiac (heart), pulmonary (lung), neural-tube defects (brain and spinal cord), craniosynostosis (skull defect), 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), among others. I am currently investigating whether or not the following antidepressants also cause such birth defects:
• Celexa manufactured by Forest Labs (generic form is citalopram)
• Effexor manufactured by Wyeth (generic form is venlafaxine)
• Lexapro manufactured by Forest Labs (generic form is escitalopram)
• Pristiq manufactured by Wyeth (generic form is desvenlafaxine)
• Prozac manufactured by Eli Lilly (generic form is fluoxetine)
• Zoloft manufactured by Pfizer (generic form is sertraline hydrochloride)
El Defenzor- Homer Villarreal: What should moms who have given birth over the last 10 years and who took anti-depressants be aware of?
Joe Flores, Attorney and FNP:
The extensive information I have reviewed reveals that mothers who have taken antidepressants during their pregnancy because they thought it was safe have given birth to babies with birth defects ranging from cleft lip to life-threatening congenital heart defects and, in some cases, the babies have been required to get full heart transplants.
Many legal and medical experts are establishing the link between antidepressants and the following congenital defects:
• Abdominal Birth Defects / Omphalocele
• Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Anal atresia (complete or partial closure of the anus)
• Cardiac (heart) defects
• Cleft lip and cleft palate
• Clubfoot (one or both feet turn downward and inward)
• Craniosynostosis (skull defect)
• Limb Defects
• Neural-tube defects (brain and spinal cord, spina bifida)
• PPHN (Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn)

El Defenzor- Homer Villarreal: Joe, what does the government say about all this?
Joe Flores, Attorney and FNP: Well, on heart and birth defects, the FDA issued a Public Health Advisory on December 8, 2005 based on U.S. and Swedish studies showing that exposure to certain antidepressants in the first trimester of pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of heart birth defects. Most of the cardiac defects observed in these studies were atrial or ventricular septal defects, those are the top and bottom chambers of the heart, conditions in which the wall between the right and left sides of the heart is not completely developed and that can cause devastating disease and shorten a lifespan even with surgery.
El Defenzor- Homer Villarreal: What is PPHN?
Joe Flores Attorney and FNP: PPHN stands for Persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) and is a serious and life-threatening lung condition that occurs soon after birth of the newborn. Babies with PPHN have high pressure in their lung blood vessels and are not able to get enough oxygen into their bloodstream. About 1 to 2 babies per 1000 babies born in the U.S. develop PPHN shortly after birth, and often they need intensive medical care.
El Defenzor- Homer Villarreal: How did you begin hearing about birth defects in pregnant women who took anti-depressants.
Joe Flores-Attorney and FNP: As a nurse practitioner who can prescribe drugs in association with physicians, I receive notices early on, but I also heard anecdotally through my colleagues who treat pregnant women that an alarming number were having babies with birth defects that had been on anti-depressants. Even before studies came out we knew something was wrong. One of these notices that begin my research in earnest was on July 19, 2006. On that date the FDA issued a Public Health Advisory for SSRIs, including Celexa (citalopram), Fluvoxamine, Lexapro (escitalopram), Prozac (fluoxetine), Symbyax (olanzapine and fluoxetine) and Zoloft (sertraline) based on a study that suggests there may be additional risks of SSRI medications during pregnancy. I receive this notice in the mail as I and all prescribers of medicine do throughout the country. I immediately let patients and clients and other healthcare providers know about this study. In this study, PPHN (Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn) was six times more common in babies whose mothers took an SSRI antidepressant after the 20th week of the pregnancy compared to babies whose mothers did not take an antidepressant. This was very alarming to me. Often, if you are not a lawyer you don’t hear about this soon enough and the same is true if you are a healthcare provider who is not in tune with the legal system. I am in both professions and put the two together quickly and began my mission to educate mothers and the public about this but so many suffered because of the failure to disclose this to the public by pharmaceutical companies who don’t want you to hear the truth. As healthcare prescriber I always underline that doctors and nurse practitioners prescribe drugs to their patients with trust that the FDA and the pharmaceutical companies will give us the appropriate warnings. They didn’t do this for our pregnant patients before the mid 2000’s and many women received an anti-depressant with sad results in the form of their babies having birth defects that were in my opinion, unjustified and needless.
El Defenzor- Homer Villarreal: What’s your message to the citizens of Texas and the U.S.?
Joe Flores-Nurse Practitioner- Attorney: People need to hear more about this. Expectant mothers on government aid as well as more affluent mothers were given anti-depressants that could injure or hurt their child and in many cases it happened.
El Defenzor- Homer Villarreal: Who’s responsible?
Joe Flores: Nurse Practitioner (FNP) and Attorney: I believe that the pharmaceutical companies need to be held accountable. As a healthcare law lawyer and nurse practitioner, it is my duty to alert people. I encourage people to read about this and contact the lawyer of their choice for an evaluation of a claim.
El Defenzor- Homer Villarreal: You have a television and radio show. Can people contact you about this?
Joe Flores-Attorney and Nurse Practitioner: If people have any questions about this topic I will be glad to pass on the information I have obtained and they can visit me at my web site at www.floreslawfirm.com or they can call me at 361.887.8670. I’m working on a documentary about this to get the word out, particularly to Latino mom’s who received these medicines unwittingly and without knowing the effects it would have on their unborn child. They can also friend me on FB and message me there or just email me. I will be doing a call in show on this type of injustice in the near future and want people to know what is going on.
El Defenzor- Homer Villarreal: Thank you for taking the time today to speak with us.
Joe Flores NP-Attorney: My pleasure.
Joe Flores is both a trial attorney and nurse practitioner who has been in the medical and legal fields for 24 years. Joe is a civil and community rights activist and has been outspoken on the issues of eugenics, disparate distribution of harmful medicines to third world countries, and minorities, and has fought against corporate profits over people for years. He received his masters degree at Texas A&M University-CC and his law degree from the number 1 rated advocacy school in the nation South Texas College of Law. Joe has also been a professor of medical-legal ethics and death and dying for Walden University in Baltimore, Maryland and Del Mar College in Corpus Christi. Joe is a national speaker on issues where medicine and the law overlap. Joe is also an advocate of the hospice movement to help families cope with their loved one’s terminal illness and to promote death with dignity. He and his wife, Priscilla, an RN, and their daughter, reside in Corpus Christi. Joe has offices in Corpus Christi, Houston, and Chicago( in association with attorneys in Illinois). He is also a director, executive producer and host of the series South Texas Crossfire which in its 8th season has a large television and internet following. He is currently working on a documentary about the role of pharmaceuticals and the use of prescription drugs and its effects on Latinos in America and risk of eugenics in the Latino community. Joe can be reached at attorneyjoeflores@gmail.com or by visiting his web site for more information at www.floreslawfirm.com.
CONTACT HIM FOR QUESTIONS: WWW.FLORESLAWFIRM.COM , 361.887.8670 OR Facebook JOE FLORES ON MY FRIEND LIST. The preceding has been an interview created by El Defenzor under the 1st Amendment. It is not a solicitation for business for El Defenzor or the Law Offices of Joe Flores and no part of this interview should be construed as legal or medical advice. For more information or if you believe your child’s birth defect has been caused by an anti-depressant while pregnant obtain a medical evaluation immediately and contact the attorney of your choice without delay. El Defenzor cares about our children.