More than one in three women are taking over-the-counter medication during the first three months of pregnancy, despite medical advice that all drugs should be avoided where possible during this time.
Analgesics, mostly paracetamol but also aspirin, were taken by 39 per cent of women surveyed by the Children of the 90s project, based at the University of Bristol. Almost a quarter used indigestion medicines in mid to late pregnancy.
But advice from the British Medical Association recommends that all drugs should be avoided if possible during the first three months, and only prescribed at all if the benefits to the mother outweigh the risks to the foetus.
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