Pregnant Women Should Avoid Aspirin

Pregnant Women Should Avoid Aspirin

If you're pregnant, avoid using aspirin. There are three common rues during pregnancy: Don't smoke, don't drink alcohol and don't take drugs. The word on restricting over-the-counter drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen has not gotten out to everybody. A study pulished in the 3/1 issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, found by way of a survey that pregnant women routinely were taking NSAIDS (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drus) and not telling their doctors. The use of such drugs can cause high blood pressure in newborns. For some reason, either because doctors weren't asking or moms-to-be weren't aware of the extent o their usage, this potentially dangerous habit was going unrecognized. Dr. Enrique Ostrea, a co-author of the study, has several theories. One is that doctors don't take enough time, or have enoughime, to discover this information when seeing pregnant patients. His other theory is that women may be uneducated about the dangers of taking drugs, especially drugs that they can buy without a presciption. "Some don't even consider aspirin or Aleve as medication,'' he said.

The Bottom Line:

Applause for more activity and less TV - truly a healthy lifestyle decision. And,unless we had not been bombarded with the notion that you should take something every time you do not feel good, who in their right mind would not consider aspirin a drug or something safe to take whle pregnant?