Is it Safe Getting Pregnant While on Prescription Medications?
During pregnancy, a woman has to think about everything that she takes in to her body. Nearly anything that she takes in, including prescription medications, may be passed through the placenta and on to her baby. However, not all medications do pass through the placenta, and not all of those that do have any negative effects on the baby.
In the United States, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) places prescription medications into specific categories in regard to pregnancy. The categories, lettered A, B, C, D, and X, each indicate a different safety level in terms of taking them while pregnant or getting pregnant. In addition, many over-the-counter medications are placed into one of these categories, as well.
Category A types of medications are generally considered to be the safest during pregnancy. These types of medications have been proven, under controlled studies, to have no risks to your developing baby. The studies have taken place both in humans and in animals.
Category B medications have sometimes not had the human clinical trials that category A medications have had. For category B medications, animal studies have been done that show no risks to the animal fetus. Alternatively, it could be that there were adverse effects in animal studies, but human studies have been done that show no adverse safety effects in humans.
Category C medications indicate those that have had either no good safety studies, whether human or animal, or that they have had adverse effects in animals, but there is no data for human studies.
Category D medications indicate those in which there is a risk to the baby, but the benefits of the medications tend to outweigh the risks of the medications.
Category X medications have risks that outweigh any possible benefits.
If you get pregnant and are on prescription medications, you should talk to your health care provider immediately. She may be able to tell you if the medications you are on are appropriately safe while you are pregnant.
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