There’s very little research on whether medications are safe and effective in pregnant and lactating women, but an expert panel has ideas for how to close that information gap — and it’s calling on the federal government to take action in a new report that could stir change.
The sweeping report is the product of more than a year of public meetings by a task force formed by Congress in 2016 to study why so few women can get reliable answers on medication use while pregnant and lactating. More than 6 million women are pregnant in the U.S. each year, and it’s estimated that more than 90 percent take at least one medication while pregnant or lactating. But few drugs have been approved as safe and effective to use during pregnancy.
The drug industry has long steered clear of research on pregnant or lactating women, citing concerns about safety, liability, and ethics. As a result, almost every medicine prescribed for these women, from antacids to epilepsy drugs to prevent seizures, is considered an off-label use and patients and providers often have to decide when to use them with little guidance.
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