Pregnant women who take prescription painkillers may put their newborns at greater risk of heart problems and other birth defects.
A new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that women who take such opioid painkillers as codeine, hydrocodone or oxycodone –better known by its brand name, Oxycontin– deliver babies with a higher, though still modest, probability of congenital heart defects. The finding applied to women who took the medication within a month before a pregnancy or in the first trimester.
The CDC examined interviews of mothers from 10 states, and found that 2 percent to 3 percent of them had taken such painkillers during the stage studied by the researchers. Those women turned out to be roughly twice as likely to give birth to a child with congenital heart problems, including serious maladies such as hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
As HealthDay News reports, an estimated 40,000 babies are born each year in the U.S. with congenital heart problems, many of whom die in their first year. The survivors often face hospitalizations and complicated surgeries.
“Women who are pregnant, or thinking about becoming pregnant, should know there are risks associated with using prescription painkillers,” CDC Director Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, said in a news release. “They should only take medications that are essential, in consultation with their health care provider. “
Other disorders among newborns, such as congenital glaucoma, gastroschisis and hydrocelaphy, also were associated with pregnant women taking opioid painkillers.
While the study, which was published in American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, focused on opioids, lead author Dr. Cheryl S. Broussard and her colleagues wrote that the safety for pregnant women of most drugs is largely unknown.
