Let's face it, even when trying to avoid all medications in pregnancy there is occasionally that really bad headache that makes you want to reach for the medicine cabinet. At least one study shows that some of the things in your medicine cabinet, particularly a category of medications called NSAIDs can lead to an increase in heart defects in your baby with first trimester use. That's enough to make you think twice!
The problem is that we don't have enough studies about medications that moms take in pregnancy. We know that about two thirds of pregnant women have had at least one medication in pregnancy. To meet the needs of pregnant women, the FDA announced the formation of a study to look at this issue through the Medication Exposure in Pregnancy Risk Evaluation Program (MEPREP). The data will be collected from birth data gathered from births over a seven year period beginning in 2007. Hopefully this will help us figure out what medications truly need to be avoided and which, if any, can more safely be used in pregnancy.
Related:
Medication Labels | Medications that harm | Common Birth Defects