Table of Contents

Preface Section I: Rules of Thumb for Taking Drugs During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding 1. Taking drugs during pregnancy: How safe are the unsafe?

2. Which drugs are contraindicated during breastfeeding? Practice Guidelines

3. Continuing drug therapy while breastfeeding: Common misconceptions of patients

4. Continuing drug therapy while breastfeeding:
Common misconceptions of physicians

Section II: Drug Safety A to Z 5. Drug Safety – A To Z Section III: Selected Drugs, Chemicals, and Medical Conditions: Frequently Asked Questions with Concise Evidence-based Answers 6. Safe use of valproic acid during pregnancy

7. Cancer chemotherapy during pregnancy: Consortium of cancer in pregnancy evidence

8. Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: (NSAIDS) during pregnancy

9. Maternal obesity and risk of neural tube defects

10. Antihistamines are safe during the first trimester

11. Caffeine during pregnancy?: In Moderation

12. Antimalarial drugs for rheumatoid disease during pregnancy

13. Nicotine replacement therapy during pregnancy

14. Safety of colchicines therapy during pregnancy

15. Use of warfarin during pregnancy

16. Can we use anxiolytics during pregnancy without anxiety? In moderation

17. Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy: Evidence-based treatment algorithm

18. Can herbal products be used safely during pregnancy?

19. Taking ACE inhibitors during pregnancy: Is it safe?

20. Prolonged exposure to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors during pregnancy: Fetal toxicity could be reversible

21. Low-molecular-weight heparins during pregnancy

22. Drinking alcohol while breastfeeding: Will it harm my baby?

23. Multivitamin supplements for pregnant women: New insights

24. Folic acid and neural tube defects: Good news at last!

25. Safety of gadolinium during pregnancy

26. Taking ginger for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy

27. Occupational exposure to inhaled anesthetic: Is it a concern for pregnant women?

28. Using corticosteroids during pregnancy: Are topical, inhaled, or systemic agents associated with risk?

29. Nonsteroidal anit-inflammatory drugs for rheumatoid arthritis during pregnancy

30. Is topical tretinoin safe during the first trimester?

31. How to ensure fetal safety when mothers use isotretinoin (Accutane)

32. Young women taking isotretinoin still conceive: Role of physicians in preventing disaster

33. Hypothyroidism during pregnancy

34. Effects of prenatal exposure to marijuana

35. Marijuana use and breastfeeding

36. Metformin use during the first trimester of pregnancy: Is it safe?

37. Is the fetus safe when spermicides fail?

38. Acid-suppressing drugs during pregnancy

39. Counseling pregnant women who are treated with paroxetine

40. Discontinuing antidepressants and benzodiazepines upon becoming pregnant

41. Risks of untreated depression during pregnancy

42. Taking antidepressants during late pregnancy: How should we advise women?

43. Taking St. John’s wort during pregnancy

44. Trimethoprim-sulfonamide combination therapy in early pregnancy

45. Influenza vaccination during pregnancy

46. Antiretroviral treatment of maternal HIV infection

About the Author

Gideon Koren, MD is Director of the Motherisk Program at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Professor of Pediatrics, Pharmacology, Pharmacy, Medicine, and Medical Genetics at the University of Toronto, Canada. The author of over 800 peer-reviewed articles, abstracts, and books, including Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy: State of the Art 2000 (The Motherisk Program), he is a Diplomat of the American College of Medical Toxicology and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, as well as a Senior Scientist of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.