News You Can Use: Fighting Infections While Expecting
New research by UM pharmacy professor examines safe antibiotic use during pregnancy
OXFORD, Miss. – Pregnant women often think, or are told, they cannot take medications during pregnancy to avoid harming the mom or baby. But one ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ of Mississippi professor is hoping new research will help medical professionals reexamine those recommendations.
During pregnancy, about 80% of the medications prescribed to women are antibiotics. And while women have been told in the past to not take antibiotics while pregnant, professor Kayla Stover said that is not the case.
Stover and co-authors published an that serves as an updated compilation of antibiotics information as it relates to pregnant patients. Medical care providers and pharmacists can easily know antibiotics' risk factors for pregnant women thanks to their efforts.
"This is a resource where we centralized information from package inserts and trials to provide one consolidated recommendation with a table that says 'yes' or 'no' or 'maybe,' depending on factors to consider," Stover said.
Previous labeling laws required pharmaceutical companies to categorize antibiotics' risks on a predetermined A, B, C, D or X scale. A rating of 'A' and 'B' were considered safe for pregnant women and 'X' was not safe at all.
Now, instead of a rating system, practitioners must read and interpret a summary of available data relating to a medicine's risks to decide whether they are comfortable prescribing the medication.
Each patient is different, Stover said. Doctors and pharmacists must weigh the variables and risks in treating patients and prescribing certain medicines.
"Because there are not so many blacks and whites in medicine, some people need medicine during pregnancy and it's worth the risk," Stover said. "And so, we have provided prescribers with all of the data that's available for them to be able to treat and save patients (using antibiotics)."
When prescribing antibiotics, practitioners should consider the patient's stage of pregnancy, other diseases that may exist and the duration of treatment for the infection, Stover said.
Some antibiotics are concerning and should be avoided during pregnancy, such as doxycycline and Bactrim, both used for treating pneumonia, Lyme disease and urinary tract infections.
But many more antibiotics are safe for use during pregnancy. Common ones include penicillin, Augmentin, cephalexin and metronidazole, all used to treat a variety of infections.
Stover recommends that patients be assertive when it comes to their health. If pregnant women find themselves coming down with an illness or infection, they do not have to endure the symptoms but can receive treatment with antibiotics when warranted.
If patients want to be treated with antibiotics or are not sure about the ones prescribed for treatment, Stover advises:
- Be your own advocate
- Ask questions of your medical provider
- Check with your obstetrician before taking antibiotics prescribed by another health care provider
- Talk with your pharmacist
"Infections can be deadly to the mom and to the baby in pregnancy," Stover said. "We have information. We have these resources now that can help us pick the very safest thing and prevent or treat infection so there are no complications"
Top: Many common antibiotics are safe for expectant mothers to take, despite common wisdom that pregnant women should avoid the drugs, pharmacy professor Kayla Stover advises. Stover and colleagues from the Southeastern Research Group Endeavor network have compiled information on which antibiotics are safe to use during pregnancy. Photo illustration by John McCustion/ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ Marketing and Communications