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Warning: Ibuprofen Use in Early Pregnancy May Double Miscarriage Risk
NSAIDs may cause miscarriage.
Who knew?! MSNBC reports that a Canadian study found the “risk of miscarriage more than doubled in women who took non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, during the first 20 weeks of gestation.” NSAIDs are anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen and are sold as brands like Advil, Aleve, Anaprox, Midol, Motrin, Nuprin, Tab-Profen and Wal-Proxen. Combination remedies that include ibuprofen or naproxen are sold as forms of Dayquil, Dimetapp, Dristan, Sine-Aid IB and Sudafed.
“I wouldn’t want this to be a reason for women who have taken a Motrin before they realized they were pregnant to freak out,” Hyagriv Simhan, associate professor and chief of the division of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center says. The study found that “the rate of miscarriage in women who took NSAIDs was about 35 percent, compared with the normal rate of miscarriage, which is about 15 percent,” taking into account various other health factors. However, the study results remain somewhat inconclusive, given that it’s “possible that some of the women who miscarried were taking the medications for cramping which is a sign of impending pregnancy loss.” The authors don’t think that’s likely, and while “the study didn’t address the kind of over-the-counter use of NSAIDs found in the U.S., the authors cautioned against any use of the drugs in early pregnancy.”
For a complete list of the brand names that NSAIDs are sold as over-the-counter in the U.S., visit PubMed Health’s pages on ibuprofen and naproxen.
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3 Comments
Sarah commented on Sep 07 11 at 1:11 pmIsn’t this why Ibuprofen is on the “don’t take this while pregnant” list? I thought that this relationship had been known for a while…
carolyncastiglia commented on Sep 07 11 at 1:19 pmI don’t remember my doctor mentioning it to me, but this may not have been the first study on the subject.
LG commented on Sep 08 11 at 3:16 amI agree with Sarah…..i knew not to take ibprofen from day one….and i’m pretty sure it wasn’t from my Dr…it was general knowledge picked up from “don’t do while you are pregnant” lists.
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