Common drugs to avoid during pregnancy

Pregnancy itself comes with lots of complication so mum to be you should be aware of taking medicine for minor problems as taking medicine without any recommendation of doctor can put you in the red zone. As ingesting some medicine may cause certain birth defects or adversely affects the development of the growing baby. It is advised to abstain OTC medicine during pregnancy especially in the first trimester. Feel free to consult your doctor for your suffering, as they will prescribe you medicine or will suggest you an alternate way to lessen your suffering.

Here is a list of drugs which you should avoid during pregnancy:

1. Antihistamines- this can aggravate certain side effects like dry mouth, dizziness, preterm birth, drowsiness and morning sickness.
2. Antidepressant – adversely affect the pregnancy and can cause birth defects and increases the risk miscarriage.
3. Antifungal - hamper the development rate of the unborn fetus.
4. Decongestants/expectorants- can cause insomnia, vomiting, and headache in pregnant women.
5. Tranquilizers- it aggravates the risk of mental retardation in growing fetus along with learning disabilities.
6. Antibiotics- it affects the growth of baby’s muscle and bone mass, causes discoloration of baby’s teeth as well as causes joint pain and nerve damage in pregnant women.
7. Anticonvulsants – increases the risk of miscarriage and premature birth.
8. Acne medication- this can cause a serious defect in a growing fetus like brain malformation and abnormalities of heart and bone.
9. Pain killers- this can cause miscarriage, oligohydramnios, bleeding, and fetal kernicterus.
10. Illegal medicines- like cocaine and marijuana can cause miscarriage, severe bleeding, low birth weight, developmental delays, heart defects etc.

So don’t take any medicine unless you talk with your doctor.