How to Determine Safety of Drugs During Pregnancy

There are so many things to consider when pregnant. Before taking any sort of drugs during pregnancy, get familiar with what is safe and what is harmful.

Instructions

1. Consider which stage of pregnancy you are in. During the first trimester, the organs are developing rapidly, which makes them very vulnerable to the potential drug risks. The second and third trimesters, although development is still occuring, tend not to be as worrisome for doctors. Some medications have been shown to be especially harmful during the first several weeks of a pregnancy while other medications have been shown to be harmful during the entire pregnancy.

2. Consider the FDA guidelines for drugs. The FDA has created a system that assigns a safety category that is applied to the label of all drugs. Any drug not rated any A or B should definitely be discussed with your doctor. The FDA categories are A, B, C, D and X. A rated drugs have been tested and found to be safe during pregnancy. B rated drugs have been use a lot during pregnancy and do not appear to cause any major problems. C rated drugs are more likely to cause problems for the mother or fetus. D rated drugs have documented health risks to the fetus. X rated should never be taken during pregnancy.

3. Even with your doctor's approval, you must decide if you wish to take drugs. Most of the time women are encouraged to keep taking certain drugs such as anti-depressants. Stopping these drugs is ofter more detrimental to the health and well-being of the mother and the side effects on the fetus are minimal. If you truly cannot get by without medication then it is best to continue with it of course under your doctors supervision.

4. Consider how close you are to giving birth. Taking aspirin shortly before the birth of the baby has shown to increase the risk of heavy bleeding. Over the counter painkillers have been shown to make a pregnancy last longer. Find out from your doctor or the hospital what is safe to take in the weeks right before delivery.

Tips & Warnings

• The best thing that you can do before taking any kind of drug is to ask your doctor including over-the-counter and prescription drugs. It is wise to make certain that you have doctor approval before taking any drug that does not fall into Category A.

• Know that more than 80 percent of all women must take some type of drug during their pregnancy so you are not alone.

• Always consider the drug alternatives during pregnancy such as a cold compress for a headache or a heating pad for a backache.

• Medical experts stress that the risks of letting health problems go untreated during pregnancy far outweigh any sort of risks from the prescribed medication.

• Most drugs are not tested on pregnant women due to safety concerns of harming the fetus. So consider this carefully before taking anything.

• Any drugs taken during pregnancy can cross the placenta and enter the developing baby's bloodstream.

• What is considered safe and unsafe is constantly changing so utilize all resources to find out the effects of any drugs.

• Learn which medicines are absolutely unsafe during pregnancy and always avoid them. Certain drugs have been shown to cause birth defects.

Resources

• United States Food & Drug Administration
• Search for Specific Drug Information