Use of common antibiotics like erythromycin in women may lead to heart and genital deformity in babies: Study
Women popping common antibiotics like erythromycin, clarithromycin and azithromycin during early pregnancy might have an increased risk of giving birth to children with heart and genital defects, finds a new study.
These antibiotics called macrolides, help treat pneumonia, bronchitis and urinary, skin, and sexually transmitted diseases. They are given to women who react poorly to penicillin.
"Our findings suggest it would be better to avoid macrolides during pregnancy if alternative antibiotics can be used, " Ruth Gilbert, co-author of the study told Newsweek. However, "women should not stop taking antibiotics when needed, as untreated infections are a greater risk to the unborn baby," she warned.
Previous studies have also suggested that macrolide antibiotics are harmful to unborn babies. One study found that women taking these drugs during the first trimester were 55% more likely to have children with major malformations like cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism and heart defects, in comparison to those who were given penicillin.
In the new study, scientists combed through data from 104,605 children born in the UK from 1990 to 2016, looking into women who were either prescribed penicillin or macrolides.
Next, they examined whether these women gave birth to children with defects, including neurodevelopmental disorders such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy, ADHD, and an autism spectrum disorder.
They found that penicillin posed less harm, in comparison, supporting previous studies. During the first three months of pregnancy, macrolide use increased the risk of major defects to 28 per 1,000 births. Penicillin use, on the other hand, increased the same risk to 18 per 1000 births. These effects, however, apply only to women in their first trimester.
But, unlike previous studies, the team found no link between macrolides and neurodevelopmental disorders. Instead, they found a link with heart and genital defects.
"The message of the paper should be directed at prescribers rather than at patients. It is already well-known that prescribing of drugs, including antibiotics, should be done with caution in pregnancy," Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, who was not involved in the study, said in a statement. He added that the study was well-conducted and the results well-analyzed.
The study, however, has one limitation. It is an observational study, meaning scientists can establish a connection between macrolide use and birth defects. The study does not affirm that macrolides are responsible for birth defects.
The study has been published in the journal BMJ.