ABSTRACT
Drug use during pregnancy has increased dramatically in recent years. Studies indicate that about 90% of women have ingested one or more medications while pregnant (1). Excluding the commonly prescribed prenatal vitamins, iron supplements, and tocolytica drugs, on average, women under 35 years of age take three prescriptions during the course of their pregnancies; in women over 35, this number rises to five. Some of the drugs used most extensively during pregnancy include antibiotics, analgesics, and narcotics, followed by antiepileptics, antihypertensives, antinauseants, psychotherapeutic agents, and respiratory medications. For most of these drugs, no well-controlled studies have been conducted in pregnant women. In spite of the current lack of information on the safety of drug products during pregnancy, there appears to be little reluctance to prescribe.
