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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:
March 11, 2009
Content source: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental
Disabilities
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