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Summary

Not all medicines are safe to take when you are pregnant. Some medicines can harm your baby. That includes over-the-counter or prescription drugs, herbs, and supplements.

Always speak with your health care provider before you start or stop any medicine. Not using medicine that you need may be more harmful to you and your baby than using the medicine. For example, many pregnant women take prescription medicines for health problems like diabetes, asthma, seizures, and heartburn. The decision about whether or not to take a medicine depends on the risks and benefits. You and your health care provider should make this choice together.

Pregnant women should not take regular vitamins. They may have too much or too little of the vitamins that you need. There are special vitamins for pregnant women. It is important to take 0.4 mg of folic acid every day before you become pregnant through the first part of your pregnancy. Folic acid helps to prevent birth defects of the baby's brain or spine.

Food and Drug Administration

Start Here

• Medicine and Pregnancy (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• Medicine and Pregnancy: An Overview (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Pregnancy and Medicines (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)

Treatments and Therapies

• Echinacea and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Prescription Opioids during Pregnancy (March of Dimes Foundation)

Specifics

• Allergy Medications and Pregnancy: What's Safe? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Alternatives for Pregnant Women (Malaria ) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Antidepressants: Safe during Pregnancy? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Bupropion (Wellbutrin) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Citalopram | Escitalopram (Celexa | Lexapro) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists)
• Diethylstilbestrol (DES) Exposure and Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Etanercept (Enbrel) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) Also in Spanish
• Fluconazole (Diflucan) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists)
• Ibuprofen and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) Also in Spanish
• Inhaled Corticosteroids (ICSs) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) Also in Spanish
• Is it Safe to Take Antibiotics During Pregnancy? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Isotretinoin (Accutane) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) Also in Spanish
• Isotretinoin and Other Retinoids during Pregnancy (March of Dimes Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Lithium and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Metformin and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) Also in Spanish
• Montelukast (Singulair) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) Also in Spanish
• Paroxetine (Paxil) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF
• Phentermine and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) Also in Spanish
• Prednisone/Prednisolone and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) Also in Spanish
• Pregnancy and Opioids: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Pregnancy Constipation: Are Stool Softeners Safe? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Pseudoephedrine and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Risk of Oral Clefts in Infants Born to Mothers Taking Topamax (Topiramate) (Food and Drug Administration)
• Sertraline (Zoloft) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists)
• Sulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim (Bactrim or Septra) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists)
• Tetracycline and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists)
• Thalidomide and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) Also in Spanish
• Topical Acne Treatments and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) Also in Spanish
• Trazodone and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists)
• Valproic Acid and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) Also in Spanish
• Venlafaxine (Effexor) and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists)
• Yeast Infection during Pregnancy: Over-the-Counter Treatments OK? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• Pregnancy Exposure Registries (Food and Drug Administration)
• Research on Medicines and Pregnancy (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Abnormalities, Drug-Induced (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Towards a Further Understanding of Meta-Analysis Using Gestational Exposure to Cannabis...
• Article: First Trimester Tetracycline Exposure and Risk of Major Congenital Malformations.
• Article: Drug-associated congenital anomalies of the external ear identified in the United...
• Pregnancy and Medicines -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Also in Spanish
• March of Dimes Foundation Also in Spanish

Men

• Finasteride and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) Also in Spanish
• Paternal Exposures and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) Also in Spanish