I’ve taken Trimethoprim in 1st month of pregnancy - how likely are birth defects?

[maryjane23]

Help! I?ve just found out that I?m pregnant, however, 2 weeks ago I was prescribed the antibiotic Trimethoprim for a urinary tract infection, which I took for 5 days (100mg 2x a day).
The doctor told me I wasn?t pregnant when she gave me the Trimethoprim (I guess it was too early to show in their test). But I?ve since discovered that Trimethoprim can cause birth defects as it inhibits folic acid metabolism.
I?m also on holiday right now, so unable to get to my GP for over a weeks time.
I?m REALLY anxious, and want to know if anyone else has taken Trimethoprim in pregnancy in the very early stages of pregnancy and if they were affected?
I?m now taking folic acid - but could the damage be done already?

If it was too early for a test to be positive, it's possible that the blastocyst hadn't even implanted yet, so technically you weren't pregnant. Until implantation, the soon-to-be embryo is hardly affected by what you consume and isn't at all dependent on your nutrition to get what it needs.

I wouldn't worry - just make sure you carry on taking folic acid.

thanks so much for your replies, they're really helpful and have given me some reassurance, so I'm not going to stress about it, and I'll just see how it goes when I get the 1st scan (I'll reply on here when I know how it goes).
I know there's no certainties even if you do everything right, but I'm sure reducing stress has got to help, so thanks for helping me with that!!

People with epilepsy are routinely given 5MG of folic acid each day for the first 12 weeks of their pregnancy, instead of 4microgrammes like a normal folic acid tablet. So you can take waaaay more than the RDA for a few weeks if you are worried! (I have epilepsy, and am currently 13 weeks pg)

My bolding didn't work??!!

Thanks for the advice Loudlass, I'll take a bit more folic acid, it's good to know it doesn't hurt to have a bit extra.

MaryJane, I am in a similar situation. Took trimephroprim for three days when I was 5 weeks pregnant. Now seven weeks and so anxious and scared. Could you please let me know how everything went with your baby? Hope you're both doing very well.

Thanks so much xxx