Pregnancy and Medication

Marcie Sillman
07/26/2004 at 9:00 a.m.

Every bottle of medicine you can buy, from aspirin to allergy medicine, says that if you're pregnant you shouldn't take it without consulting your doctor first. But your doctor may not really know how those pills will affect a pregnancy. Last week, some University of Washington professors received a grant to try and answer that question in a 5-year study. The study is unprecedented; doctors have historically been hesitant to use pregnant women in studies, so as a result little is known about how they and their fetuses react to medication. We talk with the professors performing the study this hour on Weekday.

Guests:
Dr. Mary Hebert Associate Professor of Pharmacy, University of Washington
Dr. Thomas Benedeti Vice Chair and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, consulting obstetrician on the study