Taking an antibiotic for a common health problem during pregnancy can increase the risk that a baby can be birth with devastating birth defects, suggests an investigation.
American scientists discovered that taking a specific type of medication for a urinary tract infection (UTI) considerably increased the chance that the baby was born with a congenital problem.
These problems varied from a split palate to potentially serious problems with the heart of a baby.
Utis – infections that influence the tube where urine leaves the body (the urethra), bladder or kidney – are particularly common in pregnant women.
They are considered serious infections for expectant mothers because they can cause devastating consequences for both women and the baby.
But now experts have found that antibiotic medics prescribe for clearly that UTIS could have health complications itself.
Researchers called Trimethoprim found the risk of birth defects in the woman who took the medicine in their first trimester was 26.9 per 1,000 babies.
This translated into about one of the every 145 more patients with a baby with a birth defect that they would otherwise do.
Researchers investigated the relationship between UTI medication and birth abnormalities (stock image)
Such defects include ‘serious’ heart malformations as well as split lip and taste buds.
On the other hand, the risk of other antibiotics was lower, with only 19.8 to 23.5 malformations per 1000 babies.
The researchers said this figure was in line with the standard opportunities that a baby had a birth defect, which means that there was no ‘increased risk’ of other antibiotics used to treat UTIs.
Trimethoprim is prescribed about 130,000 times per month in England.
Women in the study – between 15 and 49 – were either a strong, specialized antibiotic, such as nitrofurantoin, trimethoprim or fluorochinolone or a ‘standard’ antibiotic, such as penicillin.
Dr. Caroline Ovadia, an expert midwifery at the University of Edinburgh, who was not involved in the study, said previous research suggested that Trimethoprim blocked an important nutrient during pregnancy.
“Trimethoprim can block the functioning of folic acid that we know is important for early fetal development,” she said.
UTIs are among the most common infections during pregnancy and affects up to 10 percent of all pregnant women.
This is about double the prevalence compared to non-pregnant women of the same age.
Left untreated, they are connected to early births, a low birth rate, kidney infections and even sepsis.
Although Uti’s classic symptoms cause, such as a burning sensation, they can be asymptomatic, which means that they are hidden infections, which does not cause clear problems, but still increase the risk of complications.
This is why pregnant women in Britain one Urinet test, to check for such a hidden uti on their first midwife appointment, which usually happens for about 10 weeks.
In the US the test is performed a little later, between 12 and 16 weeks.
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