Using common antibiotics during the first trimester of pregnancy may lead to higher risk of birth defects, according to a new study.
The study titled "Associations between macrolide antibiotics prescribing during pregnancy and adverse child outcomes in the UK: population based cohort study" was published in the medical journal BMJ.
Prescribing macrolides to pregnant women during the first trimester has been linked to the risk of physical defects to 28 of 1,000 births, compared to 18 per 1,000 births with penicillin.
The study also shows that macrolides are one of the most common prescribed antibiotics in Western countries. Findings are based on the data of 104,605 children born in the United Kingdom between 1990 and 2016. The children who were born to mothers prescribed either penicillin or macrolides. The study identified birth defects and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Erythromycin, clarithromycin and azithromycin are some of the Macrolide antibiotics. These can treat infections, such as pneumonia, bronchitis and urinary, skin and sexually transmitted diseases.
However, no link was found between macrolides prescription and neurodevelopmental disorders. No associated risk was recorded between birth defects and macrolides prescribed before conception.
"If you've got a bacterial infection, it's really important to take antibiotics because infection itself can be really damaging to the unborn baby," says University College London Professor Ruth Gilbert, one of the authors of the study.
Researchers consider this a small but still significant increase. They also suggest that pregnant women and their doctors must spot an alternative depending on the type of infection.
The data gathered are based on a series of analyses of a health database of general practitioners in the UK. Gilbert pointed out that an even larger data set could further illuminate less common birth defects and other outcomes from taking certain antibiotics.
A study from the Canadian Medical Association Journal revealed that common antibiotics, such as macrolides, can lead to an increased risk of miscarriage when used in early pregnancy.
