Heartburn drugs not linked to birth defects in pregnant women
POSTED November 25, 2010 - 15:09 | POSTED BY neha gupta
Last edited by Silky Chandvani on November 25, 2010 - 15:57
The list of PPIs include Prilosec (omeprazole), Prevacid (lansoprazole), and Nexium (esomeprazole).
Till now, doctors have been worrying that the intake of the drugs might prove unsafe during pregnancy.
However, the study claims that the drugs, especially Prilosec, are safe for women who are pregnant as well as those planning to get pregnant.
The study details
The study, funded by the Danish Medical Research Council and the Lundbeck Foundation, looked at the database of almost 841,000 babies born in Denmark from January 1996 to September 2008.
The usage level of PPIs by the mothers was recorded by the researchers.
Major birth defects were reported in 3.4 percent of the babies whose mothers had been exposed to a PPI in utero as compared to 2.6 percent of the unexposed babies.
Consumption of Prilosec during the month before conception was not associated with an increase in any birth defect, the study revealed.
However, a 39 percent higher risk of major birth defects was witnessed in babies whose mothers took PPIs during the month before conception.
"Having negative observations is never absolutely reassuring," Dr. Michael Katz, senior vice president for research and global programs at the March of Dimes said. "All you can say is that within that range [in this case, 800,000 infants], the probability is that it is safe," he explained.
Minimum usage advised
In spite of the promising results of the research, experts still recommend the minimal exposure to the drugs during pregnancy.
"In general, these are probably safe but it takes a lot of time and a lot of exposures before you see some of the abnormalities that might exist," explained Dr. Eva Pressman, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and director of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
"My recommendations are always to avoid medication exposure if at all possible. There are very few life-threatening disorders that require these PPIs," she noted.
The study has been published in the Nov. 25 issue of the 'New England Journal of Medicine.'
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