What prescription drugs have been known to cause fetal damage or complications during pregnancy?

However, some studies suggest certain drugs in the SSRI category during pregnancy created a risk of newborn hypertension; spina bifida, heart defects, and other birth defects. The SSRI drugs that cause these problems include Zoloft, Lexapro, Prozac, Paxil, Symbax, Fluvoxamine.
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What prescriptions can cause fetal damage?

Medications That Cause Birth Defects
  • Accutane. ...
  • Antibiotics. ...
  • Antidepressants and Anti-anxiety drugs. ...
  • Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) ...
  • Anticonvulsants. ...
  • Topamax (Topiramate) ...
  • Zofran (Ondansetron)
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What is the most harmful drug during pregnancy?

"Street" Drugs

A pregnant woman who uses drugs like cocaine, crack, heroin and methadone may have a baby born addicted to the substances she took during her pregnancy. Cocaine is one of the most harmful drugs to unborn babies.
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Which pregnancy risk drug category indicates the greatest risk of fetal harm?

Category X: “Studies in animals or human beings have demonstrated fetal abnormalities or there is evidence of fetal risk based on human experience or both, and the risk of the use of the drug in pregnant women clearly outweighs any possible benefit. The drug is contraindicated in women who are or may become pregnant.”
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What medications places a fetus at risk for teratogenic effects?

Known Teratogens
  • angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, such as Zestril and Prinivil.
  • alcohol.
  • aminopterin.
  • androgens, such as methyltestosterone (Android)
  • busulfan (Myleran)
  • carbamazepine (Tegretol)
  • chlorobiphenyls.
  • cocaine.
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A drug used during pregnancy could cause birth defects for generations – BBC London News



Which drug may have the teratogenic effect of tooth and bone anomalies?

Potential for adverse dental effects. Oral tetracycline therapy has been associated with up to 40% restriction of bone growth, particularly of the fibula in preterm infants and in the second and third trimester of pregnancy.
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Which medication is a teratogen that may cause masculinization of a female fetus?

Medroxyprogesterone Pregnancy Warnings

Studies in animals have shown that progestogens, including this drug, may have an adverse effect on the developing fetus, including teratogenicity and fetotoxicity. Other animal studies have shown that high doses of progestogens can cause masculinization of the female fetus.
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What is a Category C drug in pregnancy?

Category C: Studies in animals have revealed adverse effects on the fetus and there are no controlled studies in women, or studies in women and animals are not available. Drugs from this class can be given to pregnant women if the benefit to the mother outweighs the risk to the fetus.
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What is a Category B drug in pregnancy?

Category B drugs include prenatal vitamins, acetaminophen and several other medications used routinely and safely during pregnancy. If there is a clinical need for a Category B drug, it is considered safe to use it.
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What are Category D drugs in pregnancy?

Category D

There is positive evidence of human fetal risk based on adverse reaction data from investigational or marketing experience or studies in humans, but potential benefits may warrant use of the drug in pregnant women despite potential risks.
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Which painkiller can cause miscarriage?

Taking any painkillers from the class of medicines known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) – such as ibuprofen, naproxen and Diclofenac – in the first 20 weeks after conception increases the risk of miscarriage by 2.4 times, the study found.
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Which of the following prescription drugs can function as teratogens?

Drugs that are capable of acting as teratogens include:
  • ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitors such as: ...
  • Acne medication isotretinoin (Accutane, Retin-A).
  • Alcohol ingested chronically or in binges.
  • Androgens (male hormones).
  • Antibiotics tetracycline (Achromycin), and doxycycline (Vibramycin), and streptomycin.
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What are 6 complications of pregnancy?

Some common complications of pregnancy include, but are not limited to, the following.
  • High Blood Pressure. ...
  • Gestational Diabetes. ...
  • Infections. ...
  • Preeclampsia. ...
  • Preterm Labor. ...
  • Depression & Anxiety. ...
  • Pregnancy Loss/Miscarriage. ...
  • Stillbirth.
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Which medication class may cause fetal harm or birth defects if inhaled or absorbed through the skin?

Unsafe medicines include tetracyclines, sulfa drugs, or Bactrim, nitrofurantoins, or Furadantin and Macrobid, and ciprofloxins, all of which have been associated with causing serious birth defects in unborn children.
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What medications cause neural tube defects?

Some medications that are used to treat seizures, specifically valproic acid and carbamazepine, have been associated with an increased chance of having a pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect.
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Which antibiotics cause birth defects?

The findings showed that women who used the antibiotics trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, nitrofurantoin, or cephalosporins were at higher risk for one or more major birth defects, as compared to women who only took penicillin. Read the scientific summary of the study.
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What is a Class C drug mean?

Class C drugs are considered by Parliament to be the least harmful of the controlled drugs. These include benzodiazepines, steroids and subutex (buprenorphine).
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What drugs are in category A?

Category A Drugs
  • Thiamine, Pyridoxine, Folic acid.
  • Docusate, Senna, Bisacodyl.
  • Dextromethorphan.
  • Doxylamine.
  • Levothyroxine.
  • Isoniazid.
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What category is gabapentin in pregnancy?

AU TGA pregnancy category B3: Drugs which have been taken by only a limited number of pregnant women and women of childbearing age, without an increase in the frequency of malformation or other direct or indirect harmful effects on the human fetus having been observed.
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Is Category D safe during pregnancy?

Category D

There is positive evidence of human fetal risk based on adverse reaction data from investigational or marketing experience or studies in humans, but potential benefits may warrant use of the drug in pregnant women despite potential risks.
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What pregnancy category is Zofran?

The FDA has classified Zofran as a “Pregnancy Category B” drug, meaning that it has not been the subject of any well-controlled studies to determine the effects Zofran may have during pregnancy. However, the FDA has approved “Pregnancy Category A” drug called Diclegis to safely treat morning sickness in pregnant women.
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Why are ACE inhibitors contraindicated in pregnancy?

It is well accepted that angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are contraindicated during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy because of increased risk of fetal renal damage. First-trimester use, however, has not been linked to adverse fetal outcomes.
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Can medroxyprogesterone harm a fetus?

The majority of studies have not found a higher chance of birth defects with depot medroxyprogesterone acetate exposure during the first trimester. Limited studies have not shown long term health problems from use of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate during pregnancy. Miscarriage can occur in any pregnancy.
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What is teratogenic medication?

A drug is a teratogen if its administration to the pregnant mother, directly or indirectly, causes a structural or functional change in the fetus or child. Organ formation within the fetus occurs in the first 3 months of pregnancy, teratogenic drugs taken in this period therefore tend to cause structural defects.
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