Consumer News: Stronger pregnancy warnings needed on popular antidepressants, group says

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Consumer Daily Reports

Details: Written by Consumer Affairs News; Category: Consumer Daily Reports; Published: 17 November 2025; Created: 17 November 2025; Last Updated: 17 November 2025

Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft and others cross the placenta and cab cause problems for newborns

November 17, 2025

Consumer group urges FDA to add stronger pregnancy warnings to popular antidepressants
Petition cites risks to newborns from late-pregnancy exposure to SSRIs and SNRIs
Advocates call for clearer guidance, safety studies, and careful dosingnot abrupt withdrawal

Public Citizen is pressing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to strengthen the pregnancy warnings on widely used serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) antidepressants, arguing that current drug labels fail to adequately convey risks to newborns.

The consumer advocacy group filed a petition late Friday asking the agency to require new, class-wide warnings for both selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) like Effexor XR and Pristiq.

Azza AbuDagga, Ph.D., a health services researcher with Public Citizens Health Research Group who prepared the petition, said the science is clear that these drugs readily cross the placenta. Therefore, it is critical that the labeling of these drugs convey balanced, evidence-based information about their potential risks, she said. This will help expectant mothers and their clinicians make informed decisions regarding their use during pregnancy.

Widespread use of antidepressants during pregnancy

SSRIs are among the most commonly used medications in pregnancy. A 2016 FDA-funded study found that at least 6% of pregnant women in the U.S. take an SSRI, meaning more than 215,000 fetuses are exposed to these medications each year.

Public Citizen emphasized that its petition focuses solely on SRI use during pregnancy and is not tied to broader political movements or public debates surrounding antidepressants.

Group seeks stronger warnings about neonatal risks

A central request in the petition is the addition of more explicit warnings about poor neonatal adaptation syndrome (PNAS) a cluster of symptoms that can occur in newborns exposed to SRIs in the third trimester. PNAS can involve breathing difficulties, feeding problems, vomiting, low blood sugar, irritability, constant crying, temperature instability and, in rare cases, seizures. Public Citizen stresses that these symptoms are common and may last longer than the first two weeks of life.

To manage these risks, the petition advises that pregnant patients taking SRIs plan to deliver in a hospital where neonatology expertise is readily available.

The organization also asks the FDA to add a warning against combining SRIs with benzodiazepines or other central nervous system depressants late in pregnancy, noting that such combinations may exacerbate PNAS and pose additional dangers to newborns.

Call for long-term safety studies

Public Citizen wants the FDA to require drug manufacturers to conduct large-scale post-marketing studies assessing both short- and long-term outcomes of prenatal exposure to SRIs. Until such research is completed, the petition argues, labels should advise that these medications be used in pregnancy only when the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks, including the risks of untreated mental illness.

AbuDagga noted that while some animal studies have linked prenatal SRI exposure to neurodevelopmental issues, human research is still limited and inconclusive. It is important to exercise caution with the use of SRIs during pregnancy until further research provides more conclusive evidence, she said. At the same time, it is essential to treat mental illness during pregnancy whenever it occurs, because failing to do so causes well-documented harms.

Advocates urge careful dosing and against sudden discontinuation

If antidepressant treatment during pregnancy is deemed necessary especially for patients who were taking SRIs prior to conception the petition recommends using the lowest effective dose for the shortest appropriate duration, along with more frequent monitoring of both mother and child.

The group warns strongly against abrupt discontinuation, saying it can trigger severe withdrawal symptoms or a relapse of the underlying mental health condition.

Public Citizen said its request to the FDA reflects current research and aims solely to improve maternal and fetal health outcomes.

Posted: 2025-11-17 20:55:51

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Is this friendly faces or retail theater?

By Kyle James of ConsumerAffairs

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What 10-4 is: Training that tells Target employeesto smile or wave within ~10 feet and greet/offer help within ~4 feet
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What it means for you: Expect more greetings as you walk the aisles, but you can still just nod, say Im just looking, and judge Target on whether lines and store organization actually improve

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The company says the program is about kindness and generosity and making visits feel more magical, and its arriving just as retailers head into whats likely to be the first-ever $1 trillion U.S. holiday shopping season.

It also comes as Target tries to pull out of a sales slump under incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke, who takes over in February 2026 with a mandate to improve store experience and reignite growth.

What is Targets 10-4 training?

According to Target, 10-4 is an internal team-member training program, not a formal policy in the employee handbook. It was shared with store workers ahead of the 2025 holiday season.

Under the guidance:

At about 10 feet: Employees are trained to smile, make eye contact, and wave if theyre near a shopper and to use friendly, approachable and welcoming body language.
At about 4 feet: Theyre told to personally greet the guest, keep smiling, and start a warm, helpful interaction. For example, asking how the shoppers day is going or whether they need help finding something.

Target has stressed to the media that these are guidelines within training, not a disciplinary rule labeled policy.

A Target spokesperson told Fox Business that with this enhanced training focused on kindness, the goal is to make each visit feel more special and show appreciation for store workers efforts.

How could 10-4 change your Target run?

If the program sticks and is consistently followed, shoppers may notice:

More greetings, more often. Instead of just one Hi, welcome to Target at the front, you may get quick check-ins from staff in multiple departments as you walk the aisles.

Fewer invisible employees. The idea is that if a worker is near you, theyre supposed to acknowledge you even if theyre stocking shelves or walking by on their way somewhere else.

A more Disney-like script. The smile-within-10-feet concept is similar to guest-service norms that have existed for years at theme parks and some other big retailers, but Targets version is unusually explicit and has been widely publicized.

How are workers and shoppers reacting?

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Some employees say online that the smile-and-wave expectation feels forced or awkward, especially when stores are busy and theyre juggling multiple tasks. Employees also said they can easily tell when a shopper would not be bothered versus those that are looking for some interaction.

While not specifically noted, I think theres an anti-theft element to this as well. Shoppers with bad intentions are less likely to steal if they have employees acknowledging them and paying attention to them.

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What this means for you as a shopper

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Prevention Tips: Staying Ahead of Recalls

Check for recalls at least twice a year. Dont wait for a letter that might never come.
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Listen to your vehicle. Unusual noises, pulling, vibration or changes in braking or steering are warning signs.

What To Do If Your Vehicle Is Affected

To find out if your specific vehicle is part of a recall, enter your license plate or vehicle identification number in our Recall Look-up Tool. If your vehicle has an unrepaired recall, contact your local car dealership and make an appointment to get your vehicle fixed for FREE.

Locate your VIN (on your registration, insurance card, or at the base of the windshield).
Enter your VIN or license plate number into the Recall Look-up Tool.
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But only for consumers who pay cash, not with insurance

By Mark Huffman

of ConsumerAffairs

November 17, 2025

Novo Nordisk announced it is cutting the cash-pay pricing for its popular semaglutide drugs: Wegovy will now be offered at $349 per month for most doses and for cash-pay patients, while Ozempic will be similarly priced (with the highest 2 mg dose remaining at $499).
The company is also launching an introductory offer: new cash-pay patients for the lowest two doses of Wegovy or Ozempic may pay as little as $199 per month until March 31, 2026.
While the price cuts aim to broaden access and counter competition from other GLP-1 and obesity treatments (notably Zepbound from Eli Lilly), medical experts warn that even at $349 a month many uninsured or under-insured patients will still face affordability issues.

Earlier this year Novo Nordisk lowered the out-of-pocket cost to consumers who were paying cash for GLP-1 drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, rather than using insurance. Those costs are now going even lower.

The changes come as the company navigates mounting competitive pressure, rising demand and the broader debate around pharmaceutical pricing and access.
For patients without insurance covering these medications, the new pricing structure breaks down as follows:

Wegovys most common monthly cost for cash-pay patients drops from the earlier figure (around $499 or more) to $349 a month for most doses.
Ozempic, primarily a diabetes drug but also used off-label for weight-management in some cases, is now offered for $349 a month for most doses under the cash-pay program except the highest (2 mg) strength, which remains at $499.
On top of that, for new cash-pay patients using the lower two dose strengths of either drug, theres a time-limited introductory price of $199 per month (until March 31, 2026) through certain channels.
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Competitive and access pressures

Novo Nordisks decision comes amid several converging pressures:

Demand for GLP-1 / semaglutide-based treatments has surged in recent years, both for diabetes and obesity, placing strain on supply and raising scrutiny over pricing.
Competitors such as Eli Lilly are expanding in the obesity and weight-management space (for example Zepbound), which prompts Novo to respond more aggressively on pricing and access.
The company also cited a desire to steer patients away from non-approved compounded versions of semaglutide (which may be less safe) by making the official brand versions more accessible.
This strategy reflects a broader trend: direct-to-consumer (D2C) distribution (via NovoCare) and lower list pricing for cash-pay patients as a way to reach populations not well served by insurance coverage.

What this means for patients

For many consumers especially those who are uninsured or whose insurance does not cover obesity-treatment drugs the price drop is likely welcome. A $349 monthly price point brings the cost into a lower tier compared with earlier figures.

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