Many newly pregnant women (and women who don’t know they’re pregnant) continue to take prescription medications that are dangerous to their developing babies.
In some cases, this is because they have a health condition, such as epilepsy, and have to continue to take the medications because it would be more dangerous for them not to.
However, in other instances, pregnant women mix pregnancy & medication without enough thought to what they are doing or how it will affect their baby.
In a study done in Canada, it was found that 6% of 109,344 pregnant women filled at least one prescription that was known to be a danger to a fetus. In the same study, it was found that 47% of the pregnancies of those women (that were exposed to prescription medications that could be harmful to a fetus) were terminated. 6% of those pregnancies were ended by miscarriage. This is plenty of evidence to indicate that mixing pregnancy & medication can really cause heartbreak if a new mom-to-be doesn’t talk to her doctor ahead of time.
While there are several over-the-counter medications that are thought to be of low risk to an unborn baby, you should always consult your doctor before taking any medication — whether it’s an over-the-counter medication or a medical prescription. This is particularly true during the first trimester when your growing baby is the most vulnerable.
If you would like to know more about a particular pregnancy medication and whether or not it is safe to take, check out Safefetus.com. Simply type the name of any medication into their drug search engine. This will give you information on the medication’s safety with regards to your baby.
My favorite things to write about are topics that have to do with weather, pregnancy, weddings, saving money, living green, and my life with dogs. When I’m not writing, I love to spend time with my husband, read, create 3D artwork and Native American beadwork.
