Medications to Avoid While Pregnant

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Mothers should take note of the medications to avoid while pregnant to avoid affecting their child's development.

Medications to avoid while pregnant

Expecting mothers should avoid certain medications to avoid affecting their child’s development.

About one out of every 33 babies is born with birth defects each year; about 2% to 3% of those are believed to be from drug exposure. Thus, it is extremely important that you avoid any medications that are not absolutely essential during the first eight to ten weeks of your pregnancy. This is the time when your baby’s brain, heart, and lungs are developing. Medication interactions could lead to defects in these areas. Unless you are given the go-signal from your doctor, these are the medications to avoid while pregnant:

Aspirin- Used to treat migraines and headaches

Carbamazepine – Used to treat epilepsy

Captopil – Used to treat high blood pressure

Distilboestrol – A hormone tablet

Fluoxetine – Used to treat depression

Lithium – Used to treat mood swings

Atovaquone and Proguanil – Used to prevent malaria

Mefenamic acid – Used to treat migraines and headaches

Phenytoin – Used to treat epilepsy

Ro-accutane Isotretinoin– Used to treat Acne

Synflex Naproxen Sodium – Used to treat migraines and headaches

Tetracycline – Antibiotic used to treat chest and vaginal infections

Thalidomide – Used to treat morning sickness

Large Doses of Vitamin A – Recommended dose during pregnancy is 8,000 IU per day

Warfarin – Used to thin the blood

X-rays- Modern x-ray procedures expose you to very low radiation to be harmful to the baby but if your physician would agree to delay it after delivery, it would be better.

As mentioned earlier,  unless you are given the go-signal from your doctor, the above are the medications to avoid while pregnant. It is always best to consult with your doctor if you’re feeling ill as they may have alternatives that you can take. Nowadays, with growing medical bills and price hikes, it is better to be safe than sorry and one sure way to be safe is to make sure that you do all that you can to avoid unnecessary medicines and hospital trips.

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