Took ClarIthromycin and Didn't Kno I Was Pregnant. What Do I Do???

I had to take a class c drug during both my entire pregnancies. Both my children are healthy...no birth defects, etc.

I did my research and on my particular drug it increased the chances of cleft palate. But the percentage that it increased it wasn't enough for me to worry over much.

Research the drug and see what the known effects are on the baby...and like drinking alcohol before finding out you are pregnant there is a window when the baby is not yet attached to your uterus and so it will not be effected by drugs or alcohol.

Try and think positive until you see your doctor and just don't take anymore until you find out what is the right thing to do from a medical professional. Sending you a huge hug!!

Pharmacists are professionals that deal with only medication. Often I find that the pharmacist is able to tell the doc what meds they need to give. I would call a pharmacist that you know will take time to look things up and talk to you. They may be able to tell you possible side effects that are common and even the ones that are uncommon.

Sorry that only time will tell how this turns out.

Stop taking them and give your body time to purge itself.

You need to see a doctor - if its a financial or time reason, do everything in your power to figure a way to do it (even if its working out a payment plan with your doctor or whatever). The more you stress about it the worse you will be physically. Plus, doctor may be able to do something to counteract it or tell you what the side effects will be. No one is a substitute for a doctor in this situation. Good luck.

I'm sorry. I know this is scary, but try to calm down. First of all, NO studies have shown an increase in harm to babies if mothers take clarithromycin. Most medications are labelled as Category C, which means NO human studies have shown harm, but animal studies have. This does not mean that there is harm to a human baby.

In the animal study, the animals were given up to 17x a human dose of clarithromycin and had very slightly elevated risks of cleft palate and cardiac effects (note that even taking many times more what you did, the increase in risks to the animals were only slight). One human study in mothers who took it in the 1st trimester showed no increase in birth defects (<1%, which is the normal rate for all the population). http://www.drugs.com/pregnancy/clarithromycin.html

As far as what to do now, there's really nothing to do except stop the medication and see your doctor. The info I posted above indicates the risks are extremely low from taking it, thankfully.

You could call a pharmacist and briefly explain your concerns. They're not doctors but they know prescriptions very well! They may be able to give a little piece of mind in the coming weeks.

I just saw a doctor who prescribed me a Category C drug, but he knows I'm pregnant. He went on to explain that it was a C drug since it hasn't been tested, but every ingredient in it is safe on its own. I re-confirmed with the pharmacist who agreed that every ingredient was fine for me.

I was prescribed a antibiotic before I knew I was pregnant too. You know, they should make you take a pregnancy test before they prescribe things, don't you think?? Anyway, it was so early on, it didn't even implant and my son is fine. It was Levaquin by the way. Make sure you talk to your OB GYN about it though.