Compensation for Birth Defects
The Strom Law Firm is now investigating and evaluating the connection between Clomid and an increased risk of birth defects. Call today for a free consultation if you or someone you love took Clomid and your child was born with a birth defect. 803.252.4800
Clomid, a commonly prescribed fertility treatment drug, is linked to an increased risk of several birth defects. A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control found these results among women who reported using Clomid two months before conception and during the first month of pregnancy.
Clomid, the fertility treatment drug prescribed to help women to help them conceive, can lead to potentially life threatening and deadly birth defects, including:
- Anencephaly (open cranium with the absence of a brain – this is a potentially fatal birth defect);
- Esophageal atresia (closed or underdeveloped esophagus);
- Omphalocele (the infant’s intestine or other abdominal organs protrude from the belly button (navel);
- Craniosynostosis (premature fusion of the skull bones, leading to an abnormally shaped head);
- Cloacal exstrophy (multiple abnormalities of the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts);
- Hypospadias & Penoscrotal Hypospadias (opening of the urethra is on the underside rather than the end);
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); and
- Limb Reduction Deficit Heart defects.
Clomid is typed as an ovulatory stimulant, with a function similar to that of estrogen (a female hormone that causes eggs to develop in the ovaries and be released), and is taken once a day for five days, starting on or around day five of a woman’s menstrual cycle. It is also used to treat male infertility, menstrual abnormalities, fibrocystic breasts, and persistent breast milk production.
Clomid has been placed in Category X by the FDA, indicating that there is evidence that supports birth defects can occur when used during pregnancy.
The FDA suggests that in order to avoid negligent Clomid administration during early pregnancy, specific tests should be utilized during each treatment cycle to determine whether ovulation has occured. Patients taking Clomid should be carefully evaulated throughout usage to ensure that pregnancy, ovarian enlargement, or ovarian cyst formation has not occurred between each treatment cycle. Clomid should not be continued until a professional has verified that the patient is not pregnant, does not have enlarged ovaries, and has not formed an ovarian cyst.
Initially, an association between Clomid and birth defects was deemed inconclusive until the journal Human Reproduction published a study from the CDC that found a significant association with nine types of birth defects following use of Clomid. The study interviewed women from 10 US regions who took Clomid and delivered a child affected by at least one of 30 birth defects. The study additionally interviewed patients who took Clomid and delivered a healthy child. The study ran from October 1997 through December 2005.
The CDC study is not the only study to link Clomid to an increased risk of birth defects. Other studies have also pointed to an association between Clomid and birth defects, as one study of 2,339 Clomid-assisted pregnancies found about 58 reported cases of associated birth defects and reproductive complications.
Commonly reported Clomid birth defects include, but are not limited to:
- Down’s Syndrome
- Club foot
- Cleft lip and/or cleft palate
- Spina Bifida
- Blindness
- Hernia (inguinal and umbilical)
- Muscular Ventricular Septal Defects
If you or a loved one took Clomid and your child was born with a birth defect, contact the Strom Law Firm, LLC today for a free consultation to discuss your legal rights.