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Topamax is a drug used to treat epileptic seizures. In addition, doctors may prescribe it in an off-label manner for OCD, bulimia and anxiety. While the drug is effective and has helped hundreds of thousands of people since its inception in 1996, it has been found to be unsafe for pregnant mothers and their unborn babies.

Birth Defects Linked to Topamax Use

Babies born to mothers who took Topamax during pregnancy have been found to suffer from a variety of congenital malformations. These typically affect the lip area, the roof of the mouth as well as the urethra in male babies. Topamax interferes with the way cells are produced in utero, producing a deficiency of these in the lip area. When there are fewer cells in the upper lip during the baby’s development, the two halves of the lip don’t come together and fuse, forming one lip. Children born with this condition called cleft lip have problems with recurrent ear infections, missing teeth as well as verbalization. In addition, Topamax may interfere with cell production in the roof of the mouth, leading to a baby being born with a hole in this area, or missing bone structure which is usually found near the upper teeth.

Topamax Pregnancy Risks

It is said that mothers who took Topamax during pregnancy were up to twenty times as likely to give birth to children with these birth defects compared to those that did not. Urethral problems are usually severe since the urethral opening in boys is located under the penis, and in some cases, near the scrotum. This is something that may require multiple surgeries but still won’t be fully fixed, leading to children growing up with reproductive difficulties and recurrent urinary infections.

Johnson & Johnson Downplayed Topamax Risks

The makers of Topamax, Johnson & Johnson has over the years downplayed this clear correlation between their drug and birth defects when the evidence clearly pointed to the fact that it was causing these malformations. The responsible thing to do would have been for them to put out black box warning on their packaging to alert consumers of the risk posed by these drugs during pregnancy. The FDA has intervened and asked that the drug be placed in category C which points to clear evidence of the medication’s potential to cause harm to an unborn baby.

Help For Topamax Birth Injuries

The negligence seen from Johnson & Johnson is disturbing and brazen. If your baby was affected by the drug company’s failure to inform you about these risks, you have every right to file a Topamax birth defect lawsuit. Please get in touch with us today on 877-561-3004 for your free consultation. Thanks, and we look forward to hearing from you.