The Forums › Forums › Medication › medications while pregnant › Re: medications while pregnant
I am not pregnant/have not been pregnant yet, but my understanding is that a *really* careful cost-benefit analysis (like with antidepressants) is recommended, and that one should try to go off meds if possible. The difficulty is that, for obvious reasons, there is great reluctance/it is viewed as unethical to conduct clinical trials of drugs on women who are pregnant. The website http://www.womenshealth.gov (U.S. site) gives the following answers in their FAQs:
Is it safe to use medicine while I am pregnant?
There is no clear-cut answer to this question. Before you start or stop any medicine, it is always best to speak with the doctor who is caring for you while you are pregnant. Read on to learn about deciding to use medicine while pregnant.
Where do doctors and nurses find out about using medicines during pregnancy?
Doctors and nurses get information from medicine labels and packages, textbooks, and research journals. They also share knowledge with other doctors and nurses and talk to the people who make and sell medicines.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the part of our country’s government that controls the medicines that can and can’t be sold in the United States. The FDA lets a company sell a medicine in the United States if it is safe to use and works for a certain health problem. Companies that make medicines usually have to show FDA doctors and scientists whether birth defects or other problems occur in baby animals when the medicine is given to pregnant animals. Most of the time, drugs are not studied in pregnant women.
The FDA works with the drug companies to make clear and complete medicine labels. But in most cases, there is not much information about how a medicine affects pregnant women and their growing babies. Many prescription medicine labels include the results of studies done in pregnant animals. But a medicine does not always affect growing humans and animals in the same way. Here is an example:
A medicine is given to pregnant rats. If the medicine causes problems in some of the rat babies, it may or may not cause problems in human babies. If there are no problems in the rat babies, it does not prove that the medicine will not cause problems in human babies.
The FDA asks for studies in two different kinds of animals. This improves the chance that the studies can predict what may happen in pregnant women and their babies.
There is a lot that FDA doctors and scientists do not know about using medicine during pregnancy. In a perfect world, every medicine label would include helpful information about the medicine’s effects on pregnant women and their growing babies. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Prescription Medicines
The FDA chooses a medicine’s letter category based on what is known about the medicine when used in pregnant women and animals.
A
In human studies, pregnant women used the medicine and their babies did not have any problems related to using the medicine.
* Folic acid
* Levothyroxine (thyroid hormone medicine)
B
In humans, there are no good studies. But in animal studies, pregnant animals received the medicine, and the babies did not show any problems related to the medicine.
Or
In animal studies, pregnant animals received the medicine, and some babies had problems. But in human studies, pregnant women used the medicine and their babies did not have any problems related to using the medicine.
* Some antibiotics like amoxicillin.
* Zofran (ondansetron) for nausea
* Glucophage (metformin) for diabetes
* Some insulins used to treat diabetes such as regular and NPH insulin.
C
In humans, there are no good studies. In animals, pregnant animals treated with the medicine had some babies with problems. However, sometimes the medicine may still help the human mothers and babies more than it might harm.
Or
No animal studies have been done, and there are no good studies in pregnant women.
* Diflucan (fluconazole) for yeast infections
* Ventolin (albuterol) for asthma
* Zoloft (sertraline) and Prozac (fluoxetine) for depression
D
Studies in humans and other reports show that when pregnant women use the medicine, some babies are born with problems related to the medicine. However, in some serious situations, the medicine may still help the mother and the baby more than it might harm.
* Paxil (paroxetine) for depression
* Lithium for bipolar disorder
* Dilantin (phenytoin) for epileptic seizures
* Some cancer chemotherapy
X
Studies or reports in humans or animals show that mothers using the medicine during pregnancy may have babies with problems related to the medicine. There are no situations where the medicine can help the mother or baby enough to make the risk of problems worth it. These medicines should never be used by pregnant women.
* Accutane (isotretinoin) for cystic acne
* Thalomid (thalidomide) for a type of skin disease
*Note from purlgurl = Ritalin is considered to be C, as are Adderall, Concerta, and Vyvanse. Ritalin has apparently caused birth defects when given to pregant rats and rabbits.
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