Pregnancy Home Remedies

Medications and Pregnancy

“No drug or chemical- whether prescription, over-the-counter or food additive- can be regarded as free of potential harm to the fetus.” –American Academy of Pediatrics

But aren't there some safe pregnancy medications, you ask? You may even be given a list of medications by your doctor or midwife that are considered "safe" for pregnancy. But what does this really mean?

Since there are tight restrictions on drug research in pregnant women, it is impossible to fully test medications or draw conclusive safety evidence. Instead, many medications have been given GRAS status, which stands for "Generally Regarded as Safe". GRAS medications and substances have not been observed to cause major defects or problems.

However, just because something has not been observed to cause overt or significant abnormalities, it is not possible to rule out more subtle effects.

For example, research has shown Tylenol during pregnancy is linked to problems in the baby, like asthma later in life and undescended testicles in male infants. The popular labor induction and augmentation drug, Pitocin, given to over 80% of women who give birth in the hospital, has been linked to ADHD and Autism.

These are just two of many examples. So why take the chance when there are plenty of natural alternatives you can try first?

Of course, there may be circumstances when the benefits of using a drug during pregnancy clearly outweighs the risk, but those should be the exception, not the rule. Besides, the more you adopt natural pregnancy and lifestyle choices, the healthier you become and this all becomes a non-issue!

Remember:

1. A headache is not caused by a Tylenol deficiency!

2. True healing can only come from within the body- from the outside we can only remove what disallows healing or add what supports it.

So ask yourself, "what does my body really need?"

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