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Abstract
Drugs should only be prescribed during pregnancy when there are clear indications;
the risks of possible adverse side effects in the mother or fetus must be weighed
against the likely benefits. Despite this concern, antibiotics are used during pregnancy,
including 5% during the first trimester. There are few indications for the prophylactic
use of antibiotics in pregnancy, but they are of value in a small number of conditions,
such as Lancefield group B streptococcal carriage, recurrent bacteriuria, bacterial
vaginosis, premature ruptured membranes, Caesarean section and in pregnant women with
known cardiac lesions.
In general, the full adult dose should be used when treating infections in pregnant
women and for the prevention of infection prior to surgery. However, low-dose antibiotics
for protracted periods of time can be used in the prevention of recurrent bacteriuria.
Those antibiotics known to be associated with possible adverse events should be avoided
and those antibiotics which have dose-related side effects should be monitored and
the dose adjusted accordingly.
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© 1999 Published by Elsevier Inc.
