Many women take prescription medications for a variety of different reasons each and every day. However, when a woman is trying to become pregnant, it is important for her to look more closely at those prescription medications. Claim Your 20 Free Pregnancy Tests – Click Here
This is because during pregnancy, everything that a woman puts into her body is passed down to her unborn baby. Some prescription medications are safe during pregnancy and will do no harm to a fetus, but some prescription medications can cause grave damage to a pregnancy. Keep reading for more information on prescriptions, pregnancy, and how the two mix.
It would be convenient if there were an easy yes or no answer as to whether or not it is safe to get pregnant while on prescription medications. However, the answer is not black and white. There is no answer that covers all prescription medications.
Here in the USA, doctors and researchers from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have set up a system for categorizing drugs in regards to pregnancy. The categories are A,B,C,D and X, and each one is a different safety level in regards to use during pregnancy.
Category A drugs are drugs that are safe to take during pregnancy. These drugs have undergone extensive testing in both humans and animals and are thought to be safe for pregnant women to take. Some examples of these drugs are folic acid and Tylenol for pain.
Category B drugs are drugs that show no risk to animals during testing. These medications may or may not have been tested on humans. Sometimes category B drugs were proven safe for animal fetuses, but have not been tested on humans.
Other times, category B drugs have been proven dangerous for animals, but safe for humans. Some examples of category B drugs are some antibiotics like Amoxicillin, Glucophage for diabetes, and some types of insulin.
Category C drugs are drugs that have shown to have adverse effects in animals, or no animal studies have been done. Category C drugs might also have had no human testing done, or the benefits to humans might outweigh the risks. Some examples of category C drugs are things like Diflucan for yeast infections, Zoloft and Prozac for depression.
Category D drugs are drugs that have shown to pose risks to unborn babies. However, the benefits in taking Category D drugs have usually been proven to outweigh the risks. Some examples of category D drugs are things like Paxil for depression, Lithium for bipolar disorder, and some chemotherapy drugs for cancer treatments.
Category X drugs are drugs that pose significant risks to unborn babies, and should not be taken during pregnancy under any circumstances. These medicines include Accutane for acne and Thalomid for skin disorders.
As you can see, the topic of prescription medication during pregnancy is a deep and broad one, one that requires plenty of research and careful thinking before taking any medicines during pregnancy. If you have a question about whether or not a certain medication is safe during pregnancy, it is always a good idea to ask your doctor just to be on the safe side.
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