Safe medications for pregnancy

Many medicines — both over-the-counter and
prescription — are safe to take during pregnancy.
If you’re taking medications essential for your health,
discuss them with your physician prior to stopping
them or changing your dose or regimen. But a
few medications can cause problems for the baby’s
development.

So let your doctor know about all the medications you take. If one
of them is problematic, you can probably switch to something safer. Keep in
mind that adjusting dosages and checking for side effects may take time.

Exposure to the following drugs and chemicals is considered to be safe
during pregnancy:(Safe medications for pregnancy)

✓Acetaminophen
✓ Acyclovir
✓ Antiemetics (for example, phenothiazines and trimethobenzamide)
✓ Antihistamines (for example, doxylamine)
✓ Low-dose aspirin
✓ Minor tranquilizers and some antidepressants (for example, meprobamate,
chlordiazepoxide, and fluoxetine)
✓ Penicillin, cephalexin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, erythromycin,
and several other antibiotics
✓ Zidovudine

The following are some of the common medications that women ask about
before they get pregnant:(Safe medications for pregnancy)

✓ Birth control pills: Women sometimes get pregnant while they’re on
the Pill (because they missed or were late taking a couple of pills during
the month) and then worry that their babies will have birth defects.
But oral contraceptives haven’t been shown to have any ill effects on a
baby. Two to three percent of all babies are born with birth defects, and
babies born to women on oral contraceptives are at no higher risk.

✓ Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil): Occasional use of these and other nonsteroidal
anti-inflammatory agents during pregnancy (for pain or inflammation)
is okay and hasn’t been associated with problems in infants. However,
avoid chronic or persistent use of these medications during pregnancy
(especially during the last trimester) because they have the potential
to affect platelet function and blood vessels in the baby’s circulatory
system, and because your baby’s kidneys process them just like your
own kidneys do.

✓ Vitamin A: This vitamin and some of its derivatives can cause miscarriage
or serious birth defects if too much is present in your bloodstream
when you get pregnant. The situation is complicated by the fact that
vitamin A can remain in your body for several months after you consume
it. Discontinuing any drugs that contain vitamin A derivatives —
the most common is the anti-acne drug Accutane — at least one month
before trying to conceive is important. Scientists don’t know whether
topical creams containing vitamin A derivatives — anti-aging creams like
Retin A and Renova, for example — are as problematic as drugs that you
swallow, so consult your physician about them.

Some women take supplements of vitamin A because they’re vegetarians
and don’t get enough from their diet, or because they suffer from
vitamin A deficiency. The maximum safe dose during pregnancy is 5,000
international units (IU) daily. (You need to take twice that amount to
reach the danger zone.) Multiple vitamins, including prenatal vitamins,
typically contain 5,000 IU of vitamin A or less. Check the label on your
vitamin bottle to be sure.


If you’re worried that your prenatal vitamin plus your diet will put you
into that “danger zone” of 10,000 IU per day, rest assured that it would
be extremely difficult to get that much vitamin A in your diet.

✓ Blood thinners: Women who are prone to developing blood clots or who
have artificial heart valves need to take blood-thinning agents every day.
One type of blood thinner, coumadin, or its derivatives can trigger miscarriage,
impair the baby’s growth, or cause the baby to develop bleeding
problems or structural abnormalities if taken during pregnancy. Women
who take this medicine and are thinking of getting pregnant should switch
to a different blood thinner. Ask your practitioner for more information.

✓ Drugs for high blood pressure: Many of these medications are considered
safe to take during pregnancy. However, because a few can be
problematic, you should discuss any medications to treat high blood
pressure with your doctor

✓Antiseizure drugs: Some of the medicines used to prevent epileptic seizures
are safer than others for use during pregnancy. If you’re taking any
of these drugs, discuss them with your doctor. Don’t simply stop taking
any antiseizure medicine, because seizures may be worse for you — and
the baby — than the medications themselves