Blog Post #2: Ibuprofen Warning to Pregnant Women

New research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found
that pregnant women taking any type of non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) increased their likelihood/risk of a
miscarriage by 2.4 times. Even small doses of painkillers such as
ibuprofen, naproxen (Advil), and diclofenac within
the first twenty weeks of pregnancy more than doubles the risk of
spontaneous abortion (miscarriage). Diclofenac was found to be the
most riskiest NSAID that a women could take and rofecoxib, known as
Vioxx in the US, was found to have the least risk of causing a
miscarriage. However, rofecoxib was taken off the market in 2004 and
no longer proves to be a risk. NSAIDs have also been proven in the
past to increase the risk of major birth defects. The Royal College
of Midwives and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of the UK, advised
that any type of NSAID should be avoided during pregnancy. However if
pain medication is needed, acetaminophen (Tylenol) would be the best
to take, having the least amount of risk involved.

For many people, primarily women, in the United States the finding of
this study seems like common knowledge. Many of us have been told, or
heard from friends and/or family that Tylenol is the only thing that
women can take during pregnancy. And if we didn't know that, it's
one of the first things doctors and nurses will tell someone upon
becoming pregnant. But what is becoming an ever increasing social
problem around the world and in the United States is the lack of
proper/adequate healthcare. How are women in rural China or remote
areas in Africa supposed to hear about this recent find, let alone
have access to a doctor? Not only is the lack of proper healthcare a
growing issue , but lack of proper and necessary medicine is a huge
concern. What if women only have access to one kind of pain
medication? Do they take their chances and cause their unborn
potential harm or do they suffer? Finding solutions to the small
problems is only one step in helping to solve the problem as a whole.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/sep/06/ibuprofen-warning-to-pregnant-women