ADHD medication could cause birth defects: Pregnant women who take Ritalin have 28% higher risk of babies with heart deformities, study finds

Medication commonly used to treat ADHD could increase the risk of heart defects in infants, according to a new study.

The research, published today in JAMA Psychiatry, found that those exposed to methylphenidate drugs like Ritalin and Concerta during their first trimester were 28 percent more likely to give birth to a child with a congenital heart defect.

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital collected data from more than four million American and Nordic women.

This means that for every 1,000 women treated with methylphenidate during the first 90 days of pregnancy, there were three infants born with a heart defect.