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WOMEN'S & CHILDREN'S | Family Maternity Center | Pregnancy Resource Center | Pregnancy Library | Pregnancy Tips | Ask before you medicate during pregnancy
Ask before you medicate during pregnancy
If you've safely been taking a particular medicine for years, is it safe to continue during pregnancy? Not necessarily. Some drugs could harm you and your baby.
Some medications have been shown not to hurt the fetus and are considered safe to take during pregnancy. In some cases, the benefits of taking a particular drug may outweigh the risks. Other drugs are known to harm a developing fetus and are not recommended.
This applies to over-the-counter medications as well as prescription drugs. Check with your doctor before taking any over-the-counter drug, including pain-relief medications, laxatives, cold or allergy remedies, and skin treatments during pregnancy. This also includes herbal remedies.
Rules of thumb
- Prevention is the best medicine. Get enough rest, eat well, and wash your hands often during cold and flu season.
- If possible, avoid all over-the-counter medications during at least the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, when your baby's heart, lungs, and brain are being formed. Try rest, fluids, and a cool mist vaporizer instead of a pill to relieve cold symptoms, for example.
- If you do need something for pain, cold or allergy symptoms, cough, constipation, minor headache or body ache, heartburn, or fever and chills, talk with your healthcare provider about what medications are safe during pregnancy, and in what dose.
- Discuss any medical problem you may have with your healthcare provider, especially if you have been prescribed medication for it. Don't just stop taking the medication. You may be advised to take a smaller dose or switch to a safer drug.
- If a medication is prescribed for you during pregnancy, read the label and carefully follow the directions for usage and dosage. If prescribed an antibiotic, take all the medication. Call your healthcare provider if you cannot tolerate any medication you are prescribed.
- Tell your healthcare provider if you are allergic to any medications.
- Tell anyone who might prescribe medications for you that you are pregnant, including your dentist or a mental health care provider.
- Abusing prescription medications of any kind can be harmful to you and your baby.
In other words, heed the fine print on the side of that pill bottle: "As with any drug, if you are pregnant or nursing, seek the advice of a health professional before using this product."
Under no circumstances. Women and men who take either of these drugs must take certain steps to avoid conception. These drugs must never be used during pregnancy:
- Accutane is a prescription medication used to treat a severe form of acne. When taken during pregnancy, it and related drugs can cause very serious birth defects.
- Thalidomide, which was once used to treat anxiety and morning sickness, was pulled off the market in the early 1960s when doctors discovered it had caused devastating birth defects in more than 10,000 children around the world. It is back in use, but only to treat leprosy, certain complications of AIDS, and other limited conditions
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Date last reviewed: October 2002.
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