Maternal medicines and teratogenicity: a review

Author: 
Bincy T Abraham., Sandra Davis., Ashly Varghese and Basil Gigi David

The use of drugs in pregnancy requires great concern as it is a time of profound physiological changes. The prescribing of drugs in pregnancy requires specific caution. The changes in the physiological state in pregnancy can have an effect the pharmacokinetics of drug administered. As the total avoidance of treatment is not possible in pregnancy, one should be cautious while using a drug in pregnancy. Pregnancy may require pharmacological treatment as there are chances new medical problems like gestational diabetes or exacerbation of old ones like migraine. The Thalidomide tragedy in 1960s opened eyes to the need for caution in the drug use in pregnancy and the need for the alternatives for teratogenic drugs. This review focuses on teratogenicity and approaches to assess the risk of drug use in pregnancy and methods for the safe prescribing of drugs in pregnancy.

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DOI: 
http://dx.doi.org/10.24327/ijcar.2021.4934.24761
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Volume10