Antibiotics can cause birth defects.

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Antibiotics can cause birth defects
November 4 2009 | Times of India Bangalore

 
Chicago: Researchers studying antibiotics in pregnancy have found a surprising link between common drugs used to treat urinary infections with birth defects. Reassuringly , the most-used antibiotics in early pregnancy penicillins appear to be the safest. 

Bacterial infections can cause problems for the fetus if left unchecked, experts said, so pregnant women shouldnt avoid antibiotics entirely . Instead, women should discuss antibiotics choices with their doctors. The study is the first large analysis of antibiotic use in pregnancy. It found that mothers of babies with birth defects were more likely than mothers with healthy babies to report taking two types of antibiotics during pregnancy: sulfa drugs and urinary germicides called nitrofurantoins . 

It was the first time an association had been seen between urinary tract treatments and birth defects, said lead author Krista Crider, a geneticist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , which funded the research . Additional studies are going to need to be done to confirm these findings.
Used for many decades, the antibiotics in question predate the Food and Drug Administration and its requirements for rigorous safety testing. The FDA now grades all drugs for safety to the fetus based on available research , but rigorous studies are so lacking in many cases, that no antibiotics get the highest grade of A . 

Sulfa drugs are the oldest antibiotics and some animal studies have found harm during pregnancy. Nitrofurantoins previously have been viewed by doctors as safe to treat urinary tract infections during pregnancy. The study, appearing in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, may cause doctors to change the drugs they choose to treat pregnant women with infections. 

Susan Mehnert-Kay , a family practice doctor in Tulsa , Oklahoma, said the research is very interesting and would cause her to reconsider antibiotic choices in early pregnancy.
Birth defects linked to sulfa drugs included rare brain and heart problems, and shortened limbs. Those linked to nitrofurantoins included heart problems and cleft palate. The drugs seemed to double or triple the risk, depending on the defect. AP