The National Medicines Safety Agency is launching an awareness campaign this Wednesday, June 2, aimed at women to warn them against the use of certain medicines during pregnancy.
- The National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) is launching an awareness campaign aimed at pregnant women against the dangers of self-medication.
- According to a survey, only 3 out of 10 women say they are informed of the risks associated with taking certain medications during pregnancy.
- 36% of women pregnant with their first child also took medication on their own initiative, and 48% of women for whom this is not their first pregnancy.
- However, certain drugs can cause malformations, developmental disorders, cause miscarriages or cause death in utero.
Practicing self-medication is never trivial, especially when you are pregnant! This is the message that wants to convey the National Medicines Safety Agency among women expecting a child. This Wednesday, June 2, the health agency is launching a vast information campaign to make them aware of the risks associated with taking certain medications during pregnancy.
A risk of malformation or death in utero
Because the consequences can be dramatic: malformations, developmental disorders or even death. in utero can be caused by taking medication. “Pregnancy is a special period during which taking medication should generally be avoided”, recalls the ANSM. Because even the most common medications, such as some painkillers or anti-nausea can “have immediate or future repercussions on the unborn child”.
This is particularly the case during the first trimester of pregnancy, during which the taking of certain medications is strongly discouraged because of the risk of malformation of organs or limbs. This is the case of drugs based on thalidomide (sedative and anti-nausea), isotretinoin (treatment of severe acne such as Roaccutane) and valproate (treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorders).
Later in pregnancy, ibuprofen and some high blood pressure medications can stunt the development of the fetus, impairing proper kidney development. From 6and month of pregnancy, a single dose of ibuprofen can lead to the death of the baby in utero. Other drugs can also cause developmental disorders such as autism or hyperactivity, including paracetamol.
“This risk is not 100%, fortunately: it is not because I am going to take a drug that it will have an effect” on the unborn child, explains Céline Mounier, director of surveillance at the ANSM. But only one take “may sometimes be sufficient to generate an effect, including involuntary terminations of pregnancy”.
According to the Medicines Agency, approximately 5% of malformations observed in newborns are due to taking medication during pregnancy. This represents between 800 and 1,200 births per year in France out of 800,000.
Women too little informed of the risks
However, despite these very real risks, French women know little about the effects of taking certain medications on the health of their unborn child. According to a survey by the ViaVoice Institute, nearly 7 out of 10 women say they are informed of the risks associated with alcohol or tobacco consumption during pregnancy, but only 3 out of 10 say so for taking medication. .
36% of women pregnant for the first time also took medication on their own initiative, and 48% of women for whom this is not their first pregnancy.
Hence the need for this campaign, which recalls via its slogan that“pregnant, drugs, it’s not just anyhow”and that it is best to discuss this with a doctor, pharmacist or midwife before taking any tablets or stopping treatment. “It is important, always, before taking any medication, even as common as ibuprofen, to discuss it with your healthcare professional when you are pregnant”reminds France Info Celine Mounier.
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