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# Study Finds Birth Defect Risks with ADHD Drugs
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/study-finds-birth-defect-risks-with-adhd-drugs/
- Published: 2018-01-08T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T23:11:37.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5140444

A new study suggests that pregnant women who take certain drugs for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have a higher risk that their babies could be born with heart deformities and other birth defects. The [study](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2664964?ref=fdaweb.com), which was published in the *Journal of American Medicine Psychiatry*, analyzed data on more than 1.8 million pregnancies in the U.S., including 2,000 women who took methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta, Daytrana) and 5,500 who took an amphetamine (Adderall) during their first trimester. The analysis showed that women who took methylphenidate were 11% more likely to have a baby with birth defects and 28% more likely to have infants with heart malformations than those who did not take the attention deficit drugs.

The study found no increased risk of birth defects or heart malformations with amphetamines like Adderall, the researchers said. “Our findings suggest that there might be a small increase in the risk of cardiac malformations associated with intrauterine exposure to methylphenidate,” said lead study author **Krista Huybrechts** of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.