Some Antibiotics Given During Pregnancy Tied to Birth Defects

Drugs commonly given to pregnant women to treat urinary infections may result in two to three times greater risks of birth defects, medical researchers have found.

The classes of drugs in the study included sulfas, including brand names Thiosulfil Forte and Bactrim, and nitrofurantoins, which include the drugs Furadantin and Macrobid. However, the most popular class of antibiotics, pencillins, was considered safest and not associated with higher risks of developmental problems in newborns.

The study was paid for by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to an Associated Press report. It was the first time researchers established a link between the use of certain antibiotics to treat urinary tract infections in pregnant women and birth defects.

Because bacterial infections during pregnancy can severely damage an unborn fetus and cause blindness, deafness, and other problems if not properly treated, the use of antibiotics on pregnant women is encouraged. Researchers said while their findings of increased birth defects shouldn’t mean an end to use of antibiotics during pregnancy, the study should encourage a discussion between doctors and patients about treatment options.

Nitrofurantoins have been considered as safe to treat urinary tract infections during pregnancy, but sulfa drugs are older antibiotics that have been found to cause harm during pregnancy in animal testing, the AP reports.

Study Focuses on Thousands of Pregnant Women

For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 13,000 mothers whose infants had birth defects and nearly 5,000 women who lived in the same areas with healthy babies.

The women were interviewed and those who took antibiotics from the month before conception through the first three months of pregnancy were singled out. About one-third of the women who recalled taking an antibiotic during those periods could not remember which type of drug they took, researchers said.

The study authors found sulfa drugs were linked to birth defects including rare heart and brain problems, including the fatal condition called anencephaly, as well as shortened limbs. Women taking nitrofurantoins had babies with cleft palates and heart malformations.

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