Antibiotics in pregnancy

[Margie32]

Today I went to get the results of some tests they did on me last week. The tests show that I have a microbe which has been linked to provoking premature labour, so the doctor recommended taking antibiotics to get rid of it. I went to buy the antibiotics but what it puts in the little leaflet has really scared me - it says that this medication hasn't been fully cleared for use in pregnancy and that a doctor has to weigh up the benefits against the potential risks.

Has anyone else taken antibiotics in pregnancy? What should I do? Unfortunately I haven't been able to see my own doctor but hopefully I'll be able to talk to him this afternoon. I should probably add that I'm 16 weeks pg, would love to hear from anyone that's had a similar experience.

I took ABs during pg for a kidney infection. IMO the risk of premature labour as a result of the kidney infection was greater than an unknown risk (but probably not a risk at all) of the ABs.

I guess it depends on the seriousness/likelihood of the risk occuring and how comfortable you feel about it, and your gp too? they do not offer drugs in pg lightly.

I was also on mediction post 17wks for hyperemesis. At first my gp said no to drugs as the drugs on offer were not cleared for pg, although no 'known' risks. However, at the point he prescribed them i was so poorly that he said the risks to me and baby as a consequence of continued and prolonged lack of food and hydration was far greater than the unknown risk of a drug that had not been formally 'approved'.

Your doctor will have thought of the risk:benefit ratio - that is, balancing the risk of this AB in pg against the benefit of clearing up this infection which can lead to premature labour. In my second pregnancy, I had appendicitis at 31 weeks. I had intravenous ABs whilst I was in hospital then oral ABs after I came home (I also had a general anaesthetic and morphine!). Clearly, the risk of me developing peritonitis outweighed the risk of taking so many drugs in pregnancy.

The wording in the label for the drug is not unusual - if you think about it, it's very difficult to test drugs in pregnancy. Unless the drug has been properly tested, a warning of this nature must be put on the labelling. It does not mean that there is any evidence that the drug is dangerous in pregnancy, just that it has been proven not to be dangerous, if you see what I mean.

I see you think you might be able to talk to your GP this afternoon - it's a good idea to get him/her to reassure you.

Your GP should've weighed this up. They should've also discussed it with you but so often they don't. If the risks of the infection are definite, then they're almost always more of a risk than the risks of the antibiotics.

I took antibiotics a few weeks ago for a chest infection. My GP discussed it with me and confirmed that that particular antibiotic was safe during pregnancy. I would speak to your GP so that he/she can confirm whether the antibiotic is safe.

The reason medication isn't strictly cleared for use in pregnant women is that it isn't ethical to conduct trials on pregnant women, so none have been done. However, we know, because so many women have taken these drugs with no negative effects on the baby or pregnancy, that they are safe. The manufacturers just have to cover themselves.

If it helps, I had a lot of complications in my last pregnancy that resulted in me being on a lot of different antibiotics, at one point three at once. I took erythromycin, metronidazole, amoxycillin and also clyndomycin, which was intravenous, during the pregnancy, erythromycin for ten weeks in total, every single day, with no problems.

Thanks so much for all your advice. The wording on the AB leaflet really freaked me out, but as most of you have pointed out, it is probably just the standard wording. When I saw the doctor this morning I asked her 3 times if taking the AB was dangerous for the baby, and she assured me that it wasn't. So I guess I just need to trust in that.