Just accidentally took 300mg aspirin and I’m worried something will happen to my baby.

[Feliciacat]

I had my booking appointment today and they told me to take 75mg aspirin due to family history of pre eclampsia. My husband got me some aspirin and I took a tablet, remembering that they’d said to take one per day. I was so tired (due to pregnancy) that I assumed it was fine but it turns out each tablet is 300mg. Could I have damaged my baby by doing this? I’m 9w4d and it’s my first (and probably only) viable pregnancy due to infertility. I’m really worried.

I know I should ask a doctor but 111 take so long to ring back. So I hoped someone would know?

Sorry it's made you so worried:( I accidentally took a dose of a medication I'd been on before pregnancy while I was pregnant. I rang triage and they reassured me that it was absolutely fine - one dose won't have done anything. I'm sure it's exactly the same for your aspirin. I'm sure one dose won't hurt your baby! Could you give your early pregnancy line a quick call for a bit if reassurance? I really understand the anxiety that this kind of thing can cause while pregnant - especially in a first pregnancy. ❤xx

You'll be fine OP. I'd only be worried if you were in third trimester and even then, the risk from one dose is pretty negligible.

I would call the maternity triage or early pregnancy unit, or msg your midwife, rather than 111 if you need reassurance. You can always ask them if you should call 111 but I doubt you need to.

A quick google says it’s the third trimester that high dose (300mg) asprin is a problem for. The NHS website says that along with “while there’s no strong evidence that high dose aspirin is unsafe to take during the first 6 months of pregnancy (up to 30 weeks) other painkillers may be more suitable“.

Hey Feliciacat

Higher doses of aspirin aren't recommended for regular pain relief in later pregnancy because there are better alternatives. At 9wk though, lots of people don't know they are pregnant yet and are ingesting things much more harmful than a regular dose of aspirin. You could ring for advice if they have given you the number at booking but i imagine you will be absolutely fine 💜

Thank you @Elz1406. I’m glad you had a good outcome after taking your old medication xx

You’re probably right. I think I’ve got myself worked up. Thank you xx

Babies survive people doing heroin and all sorts. Baby will be just fine :)

Thank you for your research, that does make me feel better xx

Thank you Teladi. It’s true that it is early. At least this has taught me an important lesson early on; I won’t be doing this again. Xx

Haha this made me laugh xx

Our guideline states 150mg once daily. I know it's still less than the 300mg but may hopefully make you feel a little better x

it would probably be sensible to talk to your obstetric team to get their advice re when to take the next (correct) dose.

Thank you! Yes, ‘only’ double the dose feels better than quadruple xx

You’re right. I think I will just ask how long to abstain (presumably four days but we’ll see). Thank you xx

I take 150mg daily as recommended by a consultant for previous misscarriages. Like another poster said, I know it’s still half but I think taking 300mg once should be absolutely fine. To be honest, I can’t be certain I haven’t doubled up my dose by accident due to forgetting I’ve taken it earlier on the odd occasion! If you’re really worried you could call the EPU but I doubt you’ve done anything to harm your baby. I hope you have an enjoyable rest of your pregnancy!

Hi @Lalalala77! Thank you so much for this. I feel a lot better today. Since it’s so early then it should be ok. I haven’t sought medical advice as it would have been absorbed after 10 minutes anyway but I feel like it will be ok as you say. I hope you enjoy your pregnancy; I’m sorry about your miscarriage history. May the rest of your pregnancy be the most boring pregnancy ever! Xx

It's so easy to worry about everything in pregnancy but I really wouldn't worry about this. I often tell myself that when things are REALLY risky, the NHS hammers it home in a million and one ways - i.e. not taking ibuprofen. If they're not banging on a thousand times about definitely not overdoing a dose, it probably means that if you do, you'll be okay! If I were you I'd skip tomorrow's dose and then it will even out to the right amount over the week x

I absolutely understand the fear. You've obviously been on a journey to get this far and it's so scary and uncertain. If it adds to the reassurance, like others have said it's not recommended in 3rd trimester. I'm also on 150mg for previous losses and have been in previous pregnancies and I am almost certain I've accidentally taken 300mg on more than one occasion forgetting I've done it and it was okay :)

Drugs concentrations half over periodic time frames. The half life of aspirin is 2-4h. So after 4h your blood concentration has halved, after 8h it's 25% after 12h it's at 12.5%. After 24h just 1% remains!
Definitely ask when to take the next dose but you might find that you don't have to wait as long as you fear