Drugs in pregnancy

Prescribing drugs during pregnancy should be done with cautions. Many drugs can have harmful effects on the growing embryo/fetus. During first trimester of the pregnancy (especially from the third to the eleventh week) is the time when highest risk of developing congenital anomalies if exposed to harmful drugs. During second and third trimester of the pregnancy growth and the functional development of the fetus is at risk if exposed to a drug. Labour process or the neonate can be affected if a drug given at term of the pregnancy.

FDA has classified drugs according to their degree of harmfulness. There are five classes (A, B, C, D, X). Class A (eg. Multivitamins) drugs are considered as harmless whereas class X (thalidomide) drugs carries a huge risk of giving rise to fetal deformities.

Followings are teratogenic drugs

Antiepileptics (Carbamazepine has the lowest risk)
Celecoxib
Co-trimaxazole
Ketoconazole
Lithium salts
Methotrexate

Inactivated virus vaccine during pregnancy

Inactivated or assembled virus vaccine

Inactivated virus vaccines are the vaccines which contain dead viruses or the viral particles. Therefore inactivated virus vaccines do not have the drawbacks of live attenuated virus vaccines. Because of this reason inactivated virus vaccines are not contraindicated during pregnancy, instead they are very useful during pregnancy. Useful inactivated virus vaccines during pregnancy are the vaccines against influenza, hepatitis A and hepatitis B.