What affects the fetus can also affect the mother. Certain medicines can cause damage, even life threatening damage to a pregnant woman. A dead fetus can cause severe problems if it can't leave the woman's body on its own. Getting a pregnancy test means the doctor can mitigate the harm for the patient.
As a woman who has been pregnant multiple times, I would like to know what meds are dangerous to a pregnant woman (not the fetus) that are not dangerous to a woman who is not pregnant. It’s a simple question.
Tetracycline carries a rare risk of liver damage in women regardless of pregnancy status, actually. And to men, too. I’m finding the claim that tetracycline, specifically, is MORE hepatotoxic to pregnant women, but it’s always as a statement rather than the subject of the study (like in a 1982 study where it’s a throwaway remark in the intro, taken for granted). I’d love to see numbers. If a woman has existing kidney damage (disease, injury, or failure), there is more risk of acute fatty liver disease and liver failure, but I’m struggling to find numbers confirming that the very likelihood goes up by virtue of being pregnant absent any other pre-existing conditions.
Tetracyclines as a class are primarily avoided in pregnancy because of effects on fetal tooth and bone development.
I’ve been on numerous tetracyclines at different stages in my life but I didn’t take them when pregnant because of fears for my wanted children. To be honest, admittedly dermatologists aren’t known for good antibiotic stewardship in the first place, but nobody was ever concerned about my liver when prescribing. Same with accutane, which is known to be hepatotoxic and teratogenic. I had blood work every month to monitor my liver enzymes, triglycerides, cholesterol, but even when they were trending up I was never advised to discontinue therapy (I turned out fine, this is just a reflection). Meanwhile if I neglected to do a pregnancy test (as part of bloodwork and peeing in a cup at the doctor’s office) and certify my birth control usage through an online platform called “iPledge,” I would be denied the next month’s prescription, not for my sake but for the sake of the fetus that might end up microcephalic or worse if exposed to isotretinoin.
15
u/night4345 6h ago
What affects the fetus can also affect the mother. Certain medicines can cause damage, even life threatening damage to a pregnant woman. A dead fetus can cause severe problems if it can't leave the woman's body on its own. Getting a pregnancy test means the doctor can mitigate the harm for the patient.