Rare is the pregnancy that happens without any ailment, discomfort or disease. One of the questions that pregnant women ask themselves is whether they can take medicines that are sold without a prescription, and the answer, in the first instance, is no.
Any medication, both those that are sold by prescription and those that are not, any herbal preparation, nutritional supplements ... could harm the future baby, so it is not recommended to take anything without medical advice.
This is because during pregnancy there are a series of physiological changes that can alter both the efficacy and safety of medications, so they should be avoided as much as possible.
If the pregnant woman suffers from any medical condition or illness, she should consult the doctor regarding the possible drugs indicated for treatment and thus ensure that they are not harmful to the fetus. And it is that the drugs reach the fetus through the placenta (or the baby once born through the milk), and can generally cause adverse effects.
First, we will say that one of the tips to prevent congenital diseases is the rational use of the drug, both in women of childbearing age and during pregnancy. This means that any medication must be prescribed by the doctor and should not be self-medicated under any circumstances.
If you suffer from a chronic illness, pregnancy planning and a preconception visit to the gynecologist is vital to make a closer control of the disease so as not to put the pregnancy at risk. At the same time, according to the different cases it will be necessary to perform adjustments or changes in treatment, and this, again, can only be carried out by the doctor.
Special emphasis should be made on the recommendations of family, friends, neighbors ... of something that worked in their cases, because no case has to be the same and in the same way we must distrust the safety of these substances.
For example, there is the case of phytotherapy or herbalism, that is, the treatment of diseases by plants or plant substances. There are studies that indicate that many of the pregnant women use these products, but specialists warn that the level of safety of each plant varies, so, as in the case of medicines, a control by the healthcare professional is recommended .
We are in a cold season and you may have arrived here because you have a good cold and you don't know what you can take. Well, in this case you should not self-medicate, since many drugs (eye to paracetamol or ibuprofen, for example) could affect the fetus. Also, remember that no medication cures the cold but that it will follow its natural process. We leave you the tips to relieve cold symptoms in pregnancy.
In short, we cannot put our baby's health at risk when we do not know how a drug or other preparation can influence it, so that For any medical condition, it is best to consult a doctor and not buy over-the-counter medications, thinking they are safe during pregnancy..
