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From the Massachusetts Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention
Researchers at the Massachusetts Center are studying all types of drugs in
pregnancy.
- About 4 out of 5 women in the United States take at least one drug while
they’re. Some women take drugs for long-term health conditions. But, most drugs
used during pregnancy are over-the-counter products for pain, headache, coughs,
colds, flu, and allergies.
- The risks and safety of most drugs in pregnancy have not been clearly defined.
This is true for prescription drugs, over-the-counter products, and herbs.
- A recent study looked at a group of drugs that change how the body uses the B
vitamin folate. It found that use of these drugs in early pregnancy doubled the
risks of neural tube defects, oral clefts, and heart defects.
- Another study looked at use of the erythromycin. An earlier study found that
use of this antibiotic in newborns raises the risk of pyloric stenosis, which
condition causes severe vomiting. This study found that a mother’s use of the
drug in late pregnancy was not linked with pyloric stenosis.
- Researchers in Massachusetts will continue to study the risks and safety of
drugs used in pregnancy. In particular, they will look at genetic factors that
change how the body uses and breaks down certain drugs that might affect birth
defect risks.
Source: Centers for Birth Defects Research and Prevention.
Massachusetts: Drug use in pregnancy. NBDPS News 2004:2.
[Back to Massachusetts Center information]
Date:
January 03, 2008
Content source: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental
Disabilities
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