Parenting Australia

Is It Safe To Take Antibiotics During Pregnancy?

If you develop a bacterial infection during pregnancy, antibiotics can nearly always be taken safely. The specific medication must be chosen carefully, however. Some antibiotics are safe to take during pregnancy, while others are not. Safety depends on various factors, including the type of antibiotic, when in your pregnancy you take the antibiotic, how much you take and for how long.

The following antibiotics are generally considered safe during pregnancy:

- Amoxicillin

- Ampicillin

- Clindamycin

- Erythromycin

- Penicillin

Certain other antibiotics should be avoided during pregnancy. For example, tetracycline’s — such as doxycycline, tetracycline and minocycline — can damage a pregnant woman's liver, discolour a developing baby's teeth and cause various birth defects.

In addition, it's important to note that a recent study found an association between two classes of antibiotics commonly used to treat urinary tract infections — nitro furan derivatives and sulphonamides — and rare birth defects. Although there's no direct proof that these antibiotics cause birth defects, additional research is needed. In the meantime Doctors are likely to be more cautious in the use of these medications during pregnancy.

If an antibiotic is the best way to treat your condition — you have a urinary tract infection, for example, or you test positive for group B strep late in pregnancy (in which case antibiotics are given during labour) — your Doctor will prescribe the safest antibiotic at the safest dosage, don’t be afraid to ask questions and get all the information you need to have peace of mind.

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