Safety of Drugs in Pregnant Women Examined in New Study

Boston University’s School of Medicine is involved in an ongoing national study to help better understand which medications are safe for women to take during pregnancy and which medicines might harm an unborn child.

Most drugs on the market are not tested on pregnant women, as many studies designed to test the safety of these medications on pregnant women are deemed unethical.

Dr. Tara Dumont, a clinician with Boston Medical College’s Women’s Health Group, said that this lack of knowledge requires doctors and pregnant women to make judgment calls regarding the use of certain medications during pregnancy without adequate information or research.

“There’s so much that’s unknown,” said Dr. Dumont.

Throughout the next several years, five federal agencies will review various medications, including vaccines, antiviral, and over-the-counter medications, and study their effect on thousands of pregnant women. The study, launched by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, will initially focus on asthma medications, flu vaccines and antiviral drugs.

Study researchers will also examine the medical history of women who gave birth to children with birth defects to see what drugs may have caused the problems.

Dr. Dumont said many pregnant women think they’re taking safe medications when they’re actually taking medications that could be dangerous to a developing child. 

“Just yesterday I had a young lady who was taking Advil, and that’s a medicine you don’t want to be taking at certain stages of pregnancy,” explained Dr. Dumont, noting that even over-the-counter medications can be unsafe. 

Additional information about drugs and drug side effects may be found on DrugWatch.com.