Oberlander Deems Effexor Infant Death To Be "SIDS"

You’ve seen the video of Matthew Schultz crying for the only time before his death at the age of two hours – and you’ve read his parents’ blog.

What you do not know is that for the past two years, Amery and Christiane Schultz have been actively seeking expert opinions and trying to find a lawyer. Unfortunately, so far the quest has been frustrating at best. One of the people that Amery has sought out for help was Tim Oberlander.

I have had the occasion dozens of times to talk with Amery through the process and I have expressed my frustration to him about what has gone on in meetings with Oberlander.

I considered Oberlander to be a wonderful expert after the May 2009 Vogue article on the risks of antidepressants and pregnancy. The article was titled “Pregnant Pause” and was written by Alexis Jetter. This report was basically a precursor to the AMA / ACOG release, as the subtitle read, “With a flurry of recent reports challenging the safety of antidepressants for unborn babies, doctors are rethinking the guidelines.” This article was put into the hands of Senators as we pounded the hill trying to stop The MOTHERS Act. Its publication in Vogue resulted in an attempt by Lauren Hale from PSI to publish a rebuttal she claimed or seemed to be claiming to have written herself, which as Evelyn Pringle reported at the time, was so obviously a planted smear campaign. Later that Summer as TIME Magazine published a story on The MOTHERS Act including a blurb about me, the folks with PSI practically went ballistic.

But when the AMA and ACOG reports were issued in August, my opinion of Oberlander changed. A report was issued in the media which claimed that antidepressants were safe for pregnant women. Oberlander’s name was listed as an author on the ACOG paper that the media was promoting as their so-called basis for pushing drugs on pregnant moms.

Add to that the fact that the original report was twisted to convey this false headline, and the fact that Oberlander had mentioned he wanted Hannah Kinney to help out with the Matthew Schultz investigation… and I was extremely concerned. Kinney is a researcher who has in the past stated that she wanted to look into the possibility of using Prozac-like drugs to prevent SIDS.

For anyone to claim that the death of a baby who was not doing well from birth after being born exposed to Effexor, and who was basically neglected by staff as he worsened and then went into cardiac arrest, was “SIDS” or was “natural” boggles the mind. For it to come from an expert like Oberlander shocks the conscience.

Here you can read Amery’s article on the topic of the “expert” report and the report coming from the coroner. As you can see, even Hannah Kinney considered the drug exposure to be an issue. So I am just left scratching my head and wondering who got to Oberlander, or where his integrity has gone.

Bobby Fiddaman commented on this situation on his blog here.

Also check out Bobby’s video memorial for many of the victims of antidepressants.

Filed under: pharmacology