Features and principles of pharmacotherapy for pregnant women

The widespread use of drugs during pregnancy has become an inevitable reality due to the deterioration of the health of women of reproductive age and the increase in the number of late births. However, the use of drugs during this period is associated with serious risks to the fetus. About 5% of congenital anomalies are associated with taking medications, which is explained by the difficulty of predicting their teratogenic effect based on research. Medicines pose the greatest danger during critical periods of pregnancy. In the first weeks after conception, they can lead to the death of the embryo, during the period of organogenesis (3-8 weeks) they can cause severe developmental defects, and in the later stages – disrupt labor and adaptation of the newborn. Particular caution should be exercised when prescribing antibiotics (tetracyclines cause dental hypoplasia, aminoglycosides – ototoxicity), NSAIDs (risk of premature closure of the arterial duct), antihypertensives (absolute contraindication for ACE inhibitors and ARBs), and hormonal drugs (estrogens and progestins in the first trimester provoke developmental abnormalities).