Risk and benefit of drug use during pregnancy

Abstract

Drug development in obstetrics occurs via an informal process of migration from use in adults into use during pregnancy. Very few treatments have been specifically developed for use in pregnancy irrespective of the focus of therapeutics –mother, placenta or fetus. This informal process means that use during pregnancy is off-label, with dosing, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, safety and efficacy not described in regulatory documents, product labels, textbooks, or the literature. The physiological, cellular and molecular changes across pregnancy and the impact of the drug disposition between mother, placenta and fetus provide the important role of the placenta in drug delivery between these compartments. The current presentation will address many questions regarding drugs in pregnancy such as: 1) How do we know which prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications are harmful? 2) Which medications should be avoided? 3) If a father takes drugs/medications, will this affect the baby? 4) What kinds of illegal drugs are harmful to fetuses? 5) Is smoking/tobacco andcaffeine use or drink alcohol during pregnancy harmful?