For years, many women have been reassured by healthcare professionals that certain medications were safe to take during pregnancy, only to later discover that these assurances were tragically misguided. This alarming revelation has left countless expectant mothers grappling with fear and uncertainty, as the very treatments meant to support their health and that of their unborn children may have posed unforeseen risks.
This is a list of 10 well known medications thought to be safe for pregnant women and their fetus but turn out to have some significant risks associated with them.
This is for information only, not medical advice. You should speak with your medical provider to determine what medications are safe for you to take.
1. Thalidomide
This drug was marketed in the late 1950s as a treatment for morning sickness in pregnant women. However, it was found to cause severe birth defects like phocomelia (malformed limbs) in thousands of babies whose mothers took it during pregnancy.
2. Diethylstilbestrol (DES)
A synthetic estrogen prescribed to pregnant women from 1940-1971 to prevent miscarriages and other pregnancy complications. DES was later found to cause a rare vaginal cancer in daughters exposed in utero and reproductive abnormalities in sons. For more information, click HERE.
3. Accutane (isotretinoin)
An acne medication that is highly teratogenic, causing severe birth defects if taken during pregnancy. The risks are so extreme that the FDA approved the iPLEDGE program, which requires female patients of childbearing age to commit to using two forms of birth control while on isotretinoin.
4. Lithium
Used to treat bipolar disorder, lithium can cause heart defects if taken in early pregnancy.
5. Valproic acid
An anti-seizure medication that increases risks of neural tube defects and other malformations.
6. ACE Inhibitors Like Captopril
Blood pressure drugs that can cause injury to the developing fetal kidneys and skull defects.
7. Warfarin
A blood thinner that can cause bleeding disorders and nasal hypoplasia (underdeveloped nose) in fetuses exposed during pregnancy.
8. Alcohol
Consumption during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol syndrome with intellectual disability and craniofacial abnormalities.
9. Phenytoin
An anti-seizure drug linked to increased risks of cleft lip/palate and other congenital abnormalities.
10. Tetracycline Antibiotics
Can cause permanent teeth discoloration in babies exposed in utero.
The thalidomide tragedy in the 1960s led to more stringent FDA regulations requiring evidence of safety for use of medications during pregnancy. However, many older and newer drugs still carry risks that may not be fully known.
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