The Atria of the heart are responsible for processing both arterial and venous blood with one atrium responsible for the blood to the arteries and the other atrium responsible for the blood coming in from the veins. In order to prevent the mixing of these two blood groups (which could have consequences on the overall maintenance of the body) the heart has evolved a wall between the two atria.
This wall, known as the interatrial septum or sometimes simply just the septum, is responsible for regulating blood flow and preventing arterial and venous blood from mixing with each other. In a baby before birth, the lungs are too poorly developed to constantly ensure well oxygenated blood traveling through the developing fetus and as such the mother’s lungs are largely responsible for ensuring that the baby fetus receives well oxygenated blood up until their birth.
To facilitate this and allow venous blood direct access to the circulatory system, the interatrial septum does not develop fully until very close to childbirth as at that point in human development it would be counterproductive to do so. This septum, however, is necessary in any human that has developed beyond the pre-birth stage. The lack of an interatrial septum or the lack of a fully developed one is known as an atrial septal defect (people in this condition sometimes also are referred to as having ahole in heart) and this type of defect can cause pulmonary hypertension as well as result in some blood pressure complications at later stages of life, making it a potentially big problem.
Where Paxil Comes In
In late September of 2005, the FDA strengthened its warning on Paxil and the risk of birth defects was added to the label of the drug, warning all pregnant women that taking the drug could result in birth defects such as their child being born with a hole in heart defect. Paxil is a drug used by people of all kinds in order to help them with conditions like clinical depression, anxiety, stress, obsessive compulsive disorder and panic attacks.
The problem with pregnant women taking the drug is that it can cause birth defects (some which are quite severe) and as a study released in December of 2005 showed, pregnant women that took Paxil were much more likely to give birth to a child that was born with some kind of defect. The study was a double-blind experiment (which meant that none of either the control group of women or the study group of women was aware of which procedure they were following in the study) and the difference was severe enough to be statistically significant. Paxil has been linked to many different birth defects and the atrial septal defect is just one of them.
A baby born with an atrial septal defect can experience a wide range of symptoms because of it, many of which will cause physical pain to the child. The best way to avoid your child potentially being born with an atrial septal defect due to use of a drug like Paxil is to simply avoid taking any drugs like Paxil during your pregnancy. If this is not possible, consult your physician and do not deviate from the advice they give you. Doing so could mean the difference between a healthy child and one with a defect such as the atrial septal one.
To learn more visithttp://www.pregnancy-guidelines.com
http://pregnancyguidelines.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment