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NSAIDs May Be Dangerous In The First Trimester Of Pregnancy

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NSAIDs

Anti-inflammatory drugs are a very popular medication class but can be a miscarriage cause according to a new study published online in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Common drugs used to handle pain also known as painkillers or NSAIDs can harm the fetus. Usually the drug package leaflet warns pregnant woman to consult a doctor before taking the pills and to avoid NSAIDs in the last trimester of pregnancy. The new study investigated the potential harm of NSAIDs in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Any woman who wants to get pregnant and abandoned contraception, should be more careful when it comes to medication.

NSAIDs

NSAIDs

In Quebec, all anti-inflammatory drugs can be bought using a medical prescription, except ibuprofen – Advil, drug which does not require a medical prescription.

Study leader, Anick Berard looked into the case of 4,7000 women who miscarried, and approximately 47,000 woman who had a normal pregnancy and found out that, during the first five months of pregnancy, about 7,5 %  of women who miscarried used NSAIDS compared to 2,6% of woman who had not miscarried. NSAIDs use was correlated with an 2,5 higher risk of miscarriage. Researchers observed the effects of ibuprofen (Advinl/Motrin), cox-2 inhibitors like colexoxib (Celebrex), diclofenac ( Voltaren, Cataflam, Voltaren-XR), and did not include aspirin in the study or acetamionophen ( Tyenol, Paracetamol) – not an anti-inflammatory drug.

Until now , another two major studies have linked NSAIDs usage and miscarriage. Back in 2001, researchers from Denmark observed a similar risk. In 2003 another study demonstrated that aspirin usage implies a lower risk of miscarriage than ibuprofen and naproxen exposure.

In the U.S, NSAIDs like ibuprofen and naproxen are available over-the-counter, and generally people think that over-the-counter drugs are less dangerous for their health (regarding adverse effects) than drugs available only by prescription.

NSAIDs work by inhibiting 2 enzymes, therefore inhibiting synthesis of prostaglandins (chemicals that mediate the inflammation process and induce fever). The ability to suppress these enzymes along with good marketing make NSAIDs the best-selling drugs on the market. What is not commonly known is that prostaglandins also have a major role in reproduction, and lack of prostaglandins lead to embryo implantation dysfunctions.

During pregnancy it is generally recommended to avoid any anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin or ibuprofen. The exact effects of NSAIDs on pregnancy will probably be never known for sure, as it would be unethical to perform a study on pregnant women and potentially harm the development of a fetus.