Archive for the 'teratogenicity' Category

Antibiotics in pregnancy

admin September 22nd, 2008

Readers may be aware of the recent news story concerning the use of antibiotic in pregnancy. The NPC blog has an informative post with useful links within it on this subject.

The prescription of antibiotics for women in spontaneous preterm labour whose waters have not broken and who have no evidence of infection has been associated with an increase in functional impairment and cerebral palsy in their children, according to a recent study. However, no association was found in women whose waters had broken. The Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) has reviewed the results and advises that any association is unlikely to be directly to the antibiotic but rather due to a number of factors involved in the natural history of pre-term labour.

Lamotrigine and teratogenicity

admin November 8th, 2006

The FDA recently issued important new information relating to the safety of lamotrigine in pregnancy:

New information suggests that babies exposed to Lamictal during the first three months of pregnancy may have a higher chance of being born with a cleft lip or cleft palate. Babies born with cleft lip or cleft palate have a gap in the upper lip or roof of the mouth.

If you take Lamictal and are pregnant or are thinking of becoming pregnant, talk with your doctor. Lamictal is used for seizures or bipolar disorder, serious conditions that need treatment even during pregnancy. Do not start or stop using Lamictal without talking to your doctor.

More research is needed to be sure about this possibly increased chance of cleft lip or cleft palate in babies born to mothers who take Lamictal.

Go here for more detailed information.