Using Antibiotics During Pregnancy Can Be Risky

The use of antibiotics during pregnancy is quite common because there are several situations where the expectant mother may need microbial treatment and there is no other way to treat the ailment. For example, your doctor may need to prescribe a course of antibiotics to a pregnant woman with urinary tract infection (known as asymptomatic bacteriuria in its mildest form).

However, it is the case that the use of antibiotics during pregnancy can be detrimental to the fetus if appropriate antibiotics are not selected. As you probably already know, there are always side effects associated with medications that should be considered. In fact, they can adversely affect both the expectant mother and her baby.

Some believe that pregnant women should not eat any medications, but this is just a myth. Science has already proven that the use of certain drugs is safe even during pregnancy, and this includes some antibiotics.

There are, however, some medications that pregnant women should avoid altogether. For example, certain antimicrobials cannot be prescribed or purchased from a pharmacy without a prescription during pregnancy, as the consequences could be fatal.

How antibiotics affect pregnancy

The effects of antibiotics on the body are almost the same in pregnant women as in other people. Almost all antibiotics are excreted in the urine.

However, both renal filtration and urine output increase in pregnant women, resulting in faster elimination of drugs and thus lower blood levels.

Although drugs are eliminated more quickly from the body, what researchers estimate about antibiotics is their ability to travel to the placenta and reach the fetus. If the drug enters the placenta, researchers want to know if it is teratogenic or not. A teratogenic drug is one that can cause birth defects or miscarriages.

The greatest teratogenic effect of antibiotics may occur during the first three months of pregnancy. These drugs no longer affect the formation of organs, but they do affect their function. In fact, this can be just as detrimental to the baby, even if his organs are already fully developed.

The use of antibiotics during pregnancy can also affect the placenta. Antibiotics that alter placental function also inhibit fetal growth. Thus, they could lead to low birth weight.

Use of antibiotics during pregnancy: safe antibiotics

The use of antibiotics during pregnancy is dangerous if the expectant mother does not follow the indications and what is known in the science about the drug. However, anyone who follows the proper protocol can use them safely.

Penicillin and antibiotics in the same group are safest for pregnant women and fetuses. This is known from the fact that no studies have found an association between these drugs and teratogenesis. This also applies to prolonged use.

The same reasoning applies to cephalosporin drugs, which have a similar mechanism of action to penicillin. They are safe to use and are very effective in treating urinary tract infections.

Another antibiotic that is often used for urinary tract infections in pregnant women because of its safety is nitrofurantoin. This antimicrobial is a particularly useful and good option for pregnant women who are allergic to penicillin. 

There is favorable evidence for azithromycin in studies in pregnant animals. For this reason, they belong to class B drugs during pregnancy. These drugs are considered safe to use during pregnancy, mainly due to the results of animal experiments and observations made about their use clinically, which happens quite often. As you can see, all of these findings confirm that they do not cause fetal malformations.

Antibiotics that are not safe to use during pregnancy

Antibiotics that are dangerous and not recommended for pregnant women include:

• Aminoglycosides. The use of these antibiotics has been linked to fetal kidney damage and congenital deafness.
• Tetracyclines. These adversely affect embryonic bone and cartilage formation as well as tooth structure.
• Fluoroquinolones. These may cause changes in the cartilage, at least according to clinical evidence.

In addition to the risks to the fetus, the potential nephrotoxic effect of these antibiotics in expectant mothers should be considered. They may adversely affect the kidney function of a pregnant woman, especially if used in combination with other types of antibiotics.

In addition to category B medicines, category D must also be mentioned. This rating listed in the package leaflet is quite informative.

Pregnant women should avoid class D antibiotics, as animal and human studies and clinical evidence suggest that they are teratogenic. Therefore, do not take any medicines classified as D if you are pregnant.

Self-medication is never profitable. Therefore, consult a doctor who can prescribe and instruct you on the proper use of antibiotics during pregnancy. This is how you protect the health of both yourself and your developing baby.