Taking Drugs During Pregnancy

We often like to play the doctor. Many of us have cabines full of medicines of all types—aspirins, antibiotics, cough syrups, tranquilizers, tonics, homeopathic and ayurvedic medicines. Some even go so far as to keep medicines given by friends and relatives without any knowledge of their contents or any harmful effects they may have.
It is essential, whether or not you are pregnant, not to take any drug without the advice and supervision of the doctor. It is well-established that heavy smoking during pregnancy retards the growth of the baby. So does alcoholism. Taking of narcotic drugs and a heavy and regular alcohol intake by the mother can cause an "addiction" and "withdrawal" symptoms in the baby after birth with jitteriness, convulsions and even death. Many drugs have been implicated in causing congenital malformations. Several years ago, in Germany and elsewhere, expectant mothers who had taken the drug—Thalidomide during the first trimester of their pregnancy, gave birth to deformed children—some without arms, others without legs—a truly horrifying experience. There are some drugs like Tetracycline which, when taken in the second and third trimesters, can result in affecting the baby in various ways such as retardation of growth, or to a lesser extent, in staining the child's teeth.
Remind your physician about your pregnancy each time you consult him for an illness so he is careful in ordering investigations and prescribing the medicines.