FACTS:
The British Medical Journal has recently published a study linking common antibiotics taken during the first trimester of pregnancy to birth defects. The study found an increased risk of birth defects in the children of women who were prescribed macrolides during the first three months of pregnancy. Macrolide antibiotics include erythromycin, clarithromycin and azithromycin, and they are used to treat infections, such as pneumonia, bronchitis and urinary, skin and sexually transmitted diseases. They are often prescribed for patients who are allergic to penicillin. A previous study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found common antibiotics, including macrolides, are linked to an increased risk of miscarriage when used in early pregnancy.
QUOTES:
University College London Professor Ruth Gilbert:
“If you’ve got a bacterial infection, it’s really important to take antibiotics because infection itself can be really damaging to the unborn baby,”
SOURCE:
To read the source article from the British Medicine Journal, click here.
