Are These Medications Harmful to Baby?
QUESTION
Dear Fitness Expert,
I'm trying to get pregnant and wonder about taking certain over-the-counter medicines such as aspirin, Tylenol, Chlor-trimeton (for nasal drainage from allergies) and Sudafed™. Would any of these medicines hurt the baby during the first trimester or later?
ANSWER
Hi.The best thing you can and should do is make an appointment with your OB/GYN. Together you can go over your medical history and what you are taking. You need to make sure your OB/GYN is in line with everything you are taking. Dr. Kevin Hackett, OB/GYN of the first all-women's Wellness Center, raises a good question -- What's the dosage? To be safe, you always want to consult your doctor.
You should also know that there are on-going studies as to the different chemical compounds that intervene with conception. Caffeine, for example, is believed to make conception more difficult. For this reason, many allergy sufferers look for alternative remedies before and during pregnancy.
I defer you to your OB/GYN whenever we talk about medicine because, as my good friend Radu says, "All bodies are different."
-- Alex
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Alexandra Allred
Alexandra Allred is a former member of the US Women's Bobsled team, is an accomplished martial artist, and continues to teach kickboxing while juggling her career as a full-time writer and mother of three. She has interviewed hundreds of athletes, models, actresses, trainers, doctors, and health/fitness experts as she sought to find answers to her own questions about working out while pregnant, arranging breast-feeding around a training schedule, diet when pregnant and breastfeeding, and encouraging her whole family.
Alex is the author of ten books, including Atta Girl! A Celebration of Women in Sports and Entering the Mother Zone: Balancing Self, Health & Family. We're excited to have her on board!
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