The first month or two of pregnancy is when danger of fetal damage is the greatest. For example thalidomide damages fetuses only between weeks 3 and 5 post-conception. Accutane causes defects during the same time frame. Some current research on autism suggests than some cases are caused by a developmental defect around week 3. And so on.
It’s never too early to see your doctor.
As I understand it, they simply don’t know in most cases. Who is going to fund studies on unborn babies? So what you have is a small list of truly scary drugs that aren’t okay for pregnancy, and a huge list of “well, we don’t know, so you should probably avoid them” drugs. At the same time you know there have been a gajillion people taking these “don’t know” drugs when they were pregnant without any obviously attributable defects or problems later.
In other words, don’t make yourself sick with worry.
On the other hand, some drugs AREN’T safe during pregnancy, and on many others you are simply not going to want to take chances. So I’d recommend (as others have said) having a serious talk with your doctor soon. Tell him you may be wanting to get pregnant in the future, and talk about the drugs you take. You may have some conversations about risk/benefits, as there might be some you will choose to continue taking even though the medical community doesn’t know that they are 100% safe. In some cases, the risk is so small and the benefit important enough to make it worth it.
I didn’t know I was pregnant and I took several OTC medications. My heart about dropped when my doctor said “Wait a minute” and left the room to go get a book to look them up. He said I was “probably okay” and I just tried not to kick myself for 9 months because what would that achieve?
The medicines and alcohol aren’t a major concern. But dear God, just stay away from all tomato products!
We have just had a local documentary aired on TV and there has been subsequent discussions in the media re: fetal alcohol syndrome. Even one glass of wine has the potential to cause this condition, especially in the first few months of pregnancy. It produces behavioural problems similar to ADD and emotional problems too. There are still GPs who think that a small amount of alcohol during pregnancy is okay.
Don’t mean to scare you but I’d lay off the alcohol if there is a chance that you are pregnant.
Vicodin in normal doses will not hurt the baby. If you are taking it several times a day in the final weeks of your pregnancy there is a possibility that the baby will exhibit signs of withdrawal but even that is not very likely.
The Flexeril is probably OK but I wouldn’t bet the farm on it. It is such a potent muscle relaxant that I wouldn’t be surprised if it had some subtle effect on strength and coordination that hasn’t been looked at in studies.
Stimulants (including caffeine) can definitely hurt a fetus but high blood levels are needed. An occasional cup of coffee or caffeinated soda is not going to be terribly risky.
If you have chronic back pain, I strongly recommend a book called No More Aching Back by Leon Root, M.D. There are great exercises in the back of the book which are simple and relaxing. They are extremely effective at keeping my back quiet and may keep you comfortable enough to eliminate the need for the drugs. He also explains a lot about back pain and covers the problem of pregnancy too.
By all means, discuss your concerns with your doctor. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor.
Hi jarbaby,
I’m going to assume that you will see your doctor – since you have said as much. Your question was essentially “what about stuff I do before I know I’m pregnant?”
I am not a doctor, however I am 24 weeks pregnant and work for a pregnancy and parenting publication. Take anything I say with the proverbial grain of salt, but I can fill you in on the conventional wisdom. Of course the smartest thing is to quit everything before you start trying, but many women don’t.
It depends on when you expect to find out – but I’ll assume that since you are trying that you’ll find out somewhere between 2 and 4 weeks after conception, or 4 - 6 weeks after the first day of your LMP. The fetus won’t implant in your uterine lining until about a week or ten days after conception, so my understanding is that much of what you ingest won’t reach it. This is not to say that is carte blanche to live it up, but means that the baby will probably be protected from any mistakes you make veryvery early in pregnancy. Anecdotally I know any number of women who have used or abused substances very early in their pregnancy, and the baby turned out fine - but there is no way of knowing if that will be true in your case so again I strongly urge you to quit everything you possibly can now.
I also went for a preconception tune-up and the doctor was great about it. They really like to talk to a well prepared woman and will be responsive and helpful. If you are woried about getting yelled at by your doctor or that he or she won’t be helpful then switch doctors and keep looking till you find one you like and trust. Or find a midwife….
Hope this helps, best of luck - and you can email me if you’d like.
Twiddle
Just a question since I have no idea about this…but just how pregnant does one have to be in order to get accurate results from one of those at-home pregnancy tests?
Rysdad it varies. Some home pregnancy tests are sensitive enough to work just a few days after a period is due (approx. 2 weeks after conception). Others can take much longer. There are brands that specificaly market themselves as being super-sensitive and being able to detect pregnancy hormones quite early.
Twiddle, friend, buddy, pal! 
I’m also 24 weeks pregnant. Fun, isn’t it?
When I first conceived, I was taking Depakote, which is known to cause certain defects in the baby’s head and nervous system. I stopped taking it the day I found out I was pregnant. I’m not sure when the window is for this particular defect, but it appears that I missed the window. Thank God Aaron has no open neural tube defect by both alpha-fetoprotein and by ultrasound, and it’s not even apparent that he has subtle defects. However, just to be on the safe side, my OB has me going for another ultrasound next month. Now, I’m not on any prescription medication, and I check and cross-check all OTC meds before I take them.
Jarby, I’m going to sixty-fourth everyone and tell you to see your doctor. In the meantime, don’t panic, but you do need to see your doc.
Robin, who is starting to doubt that she will ever see her own feet ever again
I, too, must agree with Why a Duck.
The problem is that, as Pochacco, points out, drugs that cause teratogenic effects (birth defects) are most dangerous in the first trimester of pregnancy. A problem with with even a single cell in the earliest stages of fetal development can turn into a very serious problem after eight or nine months.
On the other hand, this isn’t something to panic over. I can pretty much guarantee that if you were taking a known teratogenic, like accutane, your doctor would have done everything to let you know short of stenciling a warning label on your forehead, especially as you’re in the U.S.
Nonetheless, better safe than sorry. Why a Duck is correct. Just to be safe, go see your doctor and tell him you’re planning on a pregnancy. Just so you can hold his feet to the fire, here’s a link with information on how teratogenic drugs are classified
http://www.perinatology.com/exposures/druglist.htm
Be sure and thoroughly research all the drugs you’re taking and have a list of proposed substitutes with pros and cons for each. There’s nothing a doctor enjoys more than a seven-minute office consultation with a paranoid, wanna-be pregnant women armed with reams of detailed pharmacological data.
Cite, please? Staying away from alcohol altogether might be a reasonable idea, but I have never heard it even suggested that “one glass of wine” could cause FAS.
In my first prenatal appointment, I told the doc that I had had a glass of wine with an Italian meal before I knew I was pregnant. She took out a red pen and wrote ETOH across my chart. Freaked me out. They overreact to everything because they are so afraid of being blamed for anything going wrong. I would not worry about a glass of wine or so that you may have had early on. You can ask even a pharmacist about contraindications for other drugs and pregnancies.
Coffee… I did a bunch of research on the dangers of this during pregnancy. Many of the studies were totally biased, basically LOOKING for the downside of caffeine intake while pregnant. I didn’t see one study that convinced me that it is dangerous to drink coffee during pregnancy. I mixed 50/50 reg. coffee with decaf to compromise.
Current pregnancy tests are accurate by 10 days after conception. Do you have a Planned Parenthood clinic there?
Yet another person popping in to say that moderate alcohol consumption probably won’t do much. I’ve never been pregnant myself but have had several cousins that got tipsy at family weddings and whatnot before they knew they were pregnant, and their kids turned out fine.
Definitely go see your doctor, but why on Earth are you not sharing these concerns with your husband? Does he not want you to be pregnant right now? Do you two have a hard time talking about stuff like this?
I just know that if I was in this kind of situation I’d be talking my boyfriend’s ear off about it. You should take a night off and sit down with your husband to share your concerns.
This is interesting, because it’s almost completely opposite to everything I’ve ever heard. I have always been under the impression that FAS is caused by heavy drinking, that one glass of wine every so often will not cause this condition and that the problems FAS causes are so much more severe than mere behavioural problems (which are only part of the parcel).
I found this site: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fas/default.htm which says
I believe tsarina confused FAS with FAE (Fetal Alcohol Effect) which is a much milder condition than FAS but still can cause noticable deficits. In one rather large study, moderate drinkers (defined as 1-5 drinks per week IIRC) had significantly higher rates of FAE than non-drinkers.
Sorry, that was MelCthefirst.
It was a joke tsarina. A joke about nervous fathers to be. If I know he lurks here and I was really afraid of him seeing this, would I even post it? He knows that I’m on a baby kick, and we’re not using any protection, so of course it’s an obvious possibility, and he’s just a little nervous about it. He wants children as well, but he gets crazy about money and responsibility. We talk about it all the time.
Here’s the thing. I don’t know if you guys think I’m a faulknerian idiot or what…I’ve already discussed various drugs with my doctor. And I know how important pre natal care is. In response to all my questions she says “they’re probably ok”. PROBABLY Of course, I’m a hysterical panicky type as well, and probably doesn’t sound right to me. I want a black and white answer.
My period isn’t due for six days so I can’t do a test and I’m, like I said, in limbo
So the question is…at what point do I sacrifice my own health and comfort for that of a ‘supposed’ fetus…considering I haven’t even missed a period. Do I stop taking the back pills all together? If I didn’t take two Vicodin yesterday I would have been imobile. I have two slipped discs that hurt like a bitch. Should I stop taking anti-depressants? We all know what insanity that would be. I mean, some of these posts have said that damage to ONE cell in the first weeks can wreak havoc. I was around two people who smoke on Monday evening.
Sounds to me like if you even THINK you MIGHT be pregnant in the next six years you should just sit at home in a dark room.
I just get nervous.
j
When my husband and I decided it was time to start trying to get pregnant I made sure the anti-depressant I was on was completely out of my system. I knew it was risky, mentally, but I decided that if it came to a point where I needed it I would go back on it. In the mean time, I did not want to expose our baby to anything unnecessarily, especially when there was no determination as to whether or not the drug would have an effect on a human fetus.
I made it thru the pregnancy, however I crashed shortly after givng birth and went back on the anti-depressant.
I’m sure your doctor isn’t giving you black and white answers because of liability. There might be little or no chance the fetus will be harmed by the drugs, but if your doctor says “this drug is safe” and it doesn’t turn out “safe” there is a question of liability.
I suggest you gather as much information as you possibly can with regard to the medications you are on and decide for yourself what you are going to do.
With the condition of your back, you just might end up on limited activity or complete bedrest once you start gaining pregnancy weight.
I know it is hard not to panic, I was coughed on by a child that was over the chicken pox and I freaked out. You want what is best for your child, as should every mother.
I wish you the best.
I am going to avoid talking about doctors all together. But the fact is, if you are trying to get pregnant, you shouldn’t drink at all because it reduces your chances of getting pregnant - even one glass of wine - by 25%.
That being said, please remember that the fertilized egg doesn’t implant into the uterine wall until about a week after ovulation, and it is another week and a half or so until the umbilical cord is functioning, so anything in your blood stream as simple as alcohol or ibuprofen should be out of it by the time you know you are pregnant and the baby is actually getting blood from you, assuming you use the average home test that confirms positive the day after your period was due.
Best of luck to you!
If I may pose a dumb question, but if you already have a chronic back problem that forces you to take painkillers, why would you wish to cause more stress upon your back and your system when you add another 25-45 pounds during pregnancy?