USING ANTIBIOTIC FOR PREGNANCY WOMAN
There are a lot of kind of antibiotic with each kind behalf. Some of them are
safe and some of them is dangereous for pregnancy woman, and known risks to
a developing baby. When a drug falls into this last category, it's because either
there's not enough safety information available or the potential risk of the
drug needs to be carefully weighed against the harmful effects of the condition
it's being used to treat.
In other words, if you're very sick and an antibiotic is the only thing that
will help you get better, you may need to take it in spite of the potential
risk to your baby.
In some cases, not treating your illness can be more risky for your baby's health
than exposing him to an antibiotic.
What's more, as with any medication, the safety of a particular antibiotic
depends not only on the characteristics of the drug itself but on factors such
as how much you take, how long you take it for, and when in your pregnancy you
take it.
With so many antibiotics available, it isn't possible to list all of them here.
But common antibiotics that are generally considered safe during pregnancy include
these:
- penicillins (such as amoxicillin and ampicillin)
- cephalosporins (such as cephalexin)
- erythromycin
Some experts used to suspect that the drug metronidazole (used to treat some
vaginal infections, such as trichomoniasis and bacterial vaginosis, as well
as other kinds of infections) caused birth defects. New research hasn't supported
this suspected link, and it's now considered safe in most cases.
Antibiotics you should avoid during pregnancy include streptomycin (used to
treat tuberculosis), which can cause hearing loss in your baby, and tetracycline
(including minocycline, oxytetracycline, and doxycycline), used to treat acne
and respiratory infections. If you take tetracycline in the first trimester,
you may run a small risk of birth defects, but most experts now believe it's
unlikely. However, if you take tetracycline in the second or third trimester,
it could discolor your developing baby's teeth.
Trimethoprim, an ingredient often found in drugs used to treat urinary tract
infections (such as Bactrim and Septra), is also not a good option during pregnancy
because it blocks the effects of folic acid. Folic acid is crucial during pregnancy
and preconception because it reduces your baby's risk of developing neural tube
birth defects. If you have no other choice and must take one of these drugs,
be sure to take your daily prenatal vitamin as well. Research suggests that
taking a daily folic acid supplement of at least 400 milligrams (prenatal vitamins
generally contain twice this amount) can overcome the blocking effects of trimethoprim.
This is the table of Antibiotic risk to use in Pregnancy and Lactating Women
:
| Drug Group |
Crosses placenta or enters brest milk |
Safe for pregnant or lactating women |
Risks |
| Penicillin |
yes |
yes |
diarrhea in infant, sensitization in infant |
| Cephalosporin |
yes |
yes (relatively limited information) |
diarrhea in infant |
| Sulfonomides |
yes |
no |
kernicterus in infant, risk with G-6-PD deficiency |
| Aminoglycosides |
yes |
yes (with caution) |
diarrhea in infant and possible ototoxicity |
| Tetracycline |
yes |
no |
affects bone and teeth |
| Clindamycin |
yes |
yes (with caution) |
drug concentrated in fetal bone, spleen, lung, and liver |
| Chloramphenicol |
yes |
no |
"Gray syndrome" associated with death in infant at term |
| Erythromycin |
yes |
no |
intrahepatic jaundice in mother |
| Metronodazole |
yes |
no |
theoratical carcinogenic data in animals |
| Vancomycin |
yes |
no |
limited information |
| Streptomycin |
yes |
no |
congenital deafness |
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