| Consumer Drug Alert! Topamax Linked To Serious Birth Defects
You trust that the medications you take during pregnancy will help you, not cause harm to you or your unborn baby. But a medication some expectant mothers took to control migraine headaches and seizures may have increased the risk of developmental harm to the fetus and serious birth injuries.
Pregnant women who take Topamax or topiramate, the generic form, are at increased risk of giving birth to babies with cleft lips or cleft palates, federal drug regulators recently warned.
If you gave birth to a baby with a cleft lip, cleft palate or oral facial cleft and you took Topamax or topiramate during pregnancy, call today to talk now to the defective drugs lawyer at Janet, Jenner & Suggs, LLC. We have nationwide experience with dangerous product lawsuits, and we are committed to helping victims of unsafe drugs.
Call now: 1-888-4-MED-LAW or contact us online. The call and the consultation are free.
Topamax and Evidence of Birth Defects
Two medications -- Topamax, marketed by Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and topiramate, the generic form -- are prescribed to control seizures in people with epilepsy. The drugs are also taken to prevent migraine headaches.
Medical information collected by the North American Antiepileptic Drug Pregnancy Registry indicates an increased risk of oral clefts in infants exposed to topiramate in the first trimester of pregnancy. That's a time when many women are unaware they are pregnant. A similar pregnancy registry in the United Kingdom supported the higher risk of birth injuries shown in the North American registry.
Based on the new information, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March 2011 ordered a stronger warning label on Topamax and topiramate. The new labeling indicates there is positive evidence of risk of birth injuries from the drugs.
Women taking topiramate who plan to become pregnant should talk to their doctors about alternative medications that carry a lower risk of birth defects.
The Harm to Your Baby -- Your Legal Rights
Babies born with cleft lips or cleft palates have a defect in the upper lip or roof of the mouth. They may have problems with eating and talking. They may also develop sinus infections, depending on the severity of the cleft. Newborns often undergo surgery to close the lip and palate. Most do well after the repair is made but must live their entire lives with scarring from the repair surgery.
If an unsafe drug caused your baby's birth injury, you shouldn't have to cover the related hospital bills and other expenses. At Janet, Jenner & Suggs, LLC, our goal is to help you and your family hold drug makers accountable for the harm caused by unsafe and defective medicines.
Topamax Birth Injury? Contact Us Today
If you suspect that your baby was injured by Topamax or topiramate, you may have a legal right to claim compensation for medical bills and other damages. We are here to help you.
Do not delay -- call the MEDLAW legal team of Janet, Jenner & Suggs, LLC, now at 1-888-4-MED-LAW or contact us online. The call and the consultation are free.
Our injury lawyers have the legal experience and resources to help you and your family. Our team of accomplished attorneys includes a board certified obstetrician/gynecologist.
The law firm of Janet, Jenner & Suggs, LLC, is a nationally recognized law firm dedicated to representing victims of defective products, medical devices, prescription drugs and medical malpractice. Each of the firm's principals is named in The Best Lawyers in America® and Super Lawyers®. The firm has offices in Baltimore, MD; Asheville, NC; and Columbia, SC. The law firm has a satellite office in New York City.
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