US CDC director Tom Frieden states, “Taking opioid medications early in pregnancy can cause birth defects and serious problems for the infant and the mother.” This behavior carries great risk for developing birth defects if they are taken in just the first few weeks of pregnancy.
Frieden goes on to say, “Many women of reproductive age are taking these medicines and may not know they are pregnant and therefore may be unknowingly exposing their unborn child. That’s why it’s critical for health care professionals to take a thorough health assessment before prescribing these medicines to women of reproductive age.”
This report does not necessarily suggest that these women are abusing the drugs or taking them illegally; simply that women should be aware of the risk, especially if they are considering having children.
The report tells, “Many women need to take opioid-containing medications to appropriately manage their health conditions. However, in some instances safer alternative treatments are available and use of opioids is unnecessary.” The report goes on to describe that doctors and patients need to have awareness of this risk for developing birth defects.
After all, as co-author Jennifer Lind tells, “These are risks these women are being exposed to even before they know they are pregnant.” The CDC pharmacist continues, “The critical window is usually the first trimester.”
What is most alarming is that the report details that as many as one in three women suffer an injury which requires opioid painkiller medication every year. And Lewis Nelson, a professor of emergency medicine and toxicology with the New York University School of Medicine ascribe, “This suggests that opioids are being prescribed too freely for acute pain or are being prescribed and dispended for other, perhaps less legitimate, reasons.”
Return to News Home
