Pregnancy and Medicines

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• Treatments and Therapies

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Summary

Not all medicines are safe to take when you are pregnant. Some medicines can harm your baby. That includes over-the-counter or prescription drugs, herbs, and supplements.

Always speak with your health care provider before you start or stop any medicine. Not using medicine that you need may be more harmful to you and your baby than using the medicine. For example, many pregnant women take prescription medicines for health problems like diabetes, asthma, seizures, and heartburn. The decision about whether or not to take a medicine depends on the risks and benefits. You and your health care provider should make this choice together.

Pregnant women should not take regular vitamins. They may have too much or too little of the vitamins that you need. There are special vitamins for pregnant women. It is important to take 0.4 mg of folic acid every day before you become pregnant through the first part of your pregnancy. Folic acid helps to prevent birth defects of the baby's brain or spine.

Food and Drug Administration

Start Here

• Medicine and Pregnancy (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• Pregnancy and Medicines (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)
• Prescription Drugs, Over-the-Counter Drugs, Supplements and Herbal Products (March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Treating for Two: Medicine and Pregnancy: Basics (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Echinacea Preparations and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Index to Drug-Specific Information (Food and Drug Administration)
• Prescription Opioids during Pregnancy (March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Registries Help Moms Measure Medication Risks (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Allergy Medications and Pregnancy: What's Safe? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Antibiotics and Pregnancy: What's Safe? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Antidepressants: Safe during Pregnancy? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Bisphosphonate Treatment and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF
• Bupropion (Wellbutrin) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF
• Citalopram/Escitalopram (Celexa/Lexapro) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF
• Diethylstilbestrol (DES) and Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Etanercept (Enbrel) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Fluconazole and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF
• Ibuprofen and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Inhaled Corticosteroids (ICSs) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Isotretinoin (Accutane) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Isotretinoin and Other Retinoids During Pregnancy (March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Lithium and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF
• Metformin and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Miconazole/Clotrimazole and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF
• Montelukast (Singulair) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists)
• New Recommendations for Mefloquine Use in Pregnancy (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Paroxetine (Paxil) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF
• Phentermine and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF
• Prednisone/Prednisolone and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF
• Pregnancy and Opioids: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Pregnancy Constipation: Are Stool Softeners Safe? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Pseudoephedrine, Phenylephrine and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF
• Risk of oral clefts in children born to mothers taking Topamax (topiramate) Risk of Oral Clefts (Cleft Lip and/or Palate) in Infants Born to Mothers Taking Topamax (Topiramate) (Food and Drug Administration)
• Sertraline (Zoloft) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF
• Sulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim (Bactrim or Septra) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF
• Tetracycline and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF
• Thalidomide and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF
• Topical Acne Treatments and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Trazodone (Desyrel) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF
• Valproic Acid and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) Also in Spanish
• Venlafaxine (Effexor) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF

Statistics and Research

• How Much Do We Know about the Most Common Medicines Used during Pregnancy? (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Opioid Use and Neural Tube Defects (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Pregnancy Registries (Food and Drug Administration)
• Treating for Two: Medicine and Pregnancy: Research (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Abnormalities, Drug-Induced (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Association of first trimester prescription opioid use with congenital malformations in...
• Article: Association between use of macrolides in pregnancy and risk of major...
• Article: Risk of pre-term births and major birth defects resulting from paternal...
• Pregnancy and Medicines -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Also in Spanish
• March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation Also in Spanish

Men

• Finasteride (Propecia/Proscar) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF
• Paternal Exposures and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF Also in Spanish