Moms-to-be beware! Taking antibiotics during pregnancy may up risk of birth defects in babies

A new study has revealed that women should not take certain antibiotics during their preganancy as it increases the risk of major birth defects in newborn.

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New Delhi: Mothers-to-be take note! A new study has revealed that women should not take certain antibiotics during their pregnancy as it increases the risk of major birth defects in newborn.

The findings indicated that amoxicillin, cephalosporins and nitrofurantoin were not associated with birth defects.

Previous study has shown that taking antidepressants during pregnancy could lead to autism risk in kids, while taking antacids could lead to asthma in the child.

Although the absolute risks for birth defects were small, physicians should consider prescribing other antibiotics when treating patients with infections during pregnancy.

Senior author Anick Berard said that infections during pregnancy are frequent and should be treated.

Berard added that the study highlights safer options for treatment of infections, more specifically urinary tract infections or pulmonary infections, at least during the first trimester of pregnancy. Researchers analysed information on 1,39,938 live births in Quebec, Canada, between 1998 and 2008.

Clindamycin, doxycycline, quinolones, macrolides and phenoxymethylpenicillin were linked to organ-specific malformations.

The study is published in journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

(With ANI inputs)