“This is my first child, and I don’t know what to do!” exclaimed Lyndsay, a newly pregnant person when I answered MotherToBaby’s free and confidential helpline. Lyndsay explained that she is taking several medications and was concerned about their potential effects on her unborn baby. She is currently very new to recovery from cocaine and opioid use disorder. She is taking buprenorphine and naloxone for the opioid use disorder, along with baclofen and n-acetylcysteine (NAC) for cocaine …
The Baby Blog: Archives for May 2024
Allergies, Asthma and Pregnancy…Oh My! Wait. Don’t Panic.
By Mara Gaudette, MS, CGC, Teratogen Information Specialist, MotherToBaby My friend Jocelyn, newly (and unexpectedly!) pregnant called in a bit of a panic. Her cardiologist was switching her high blood pressure medication now that she was pregnant. Jocelyn was still waiting for her asthma doctor to call her back but she figured her asthma treatment plan was another of the many changes she needed to make to accommodate the pregnancy. “Does anything stay the same?” she asked. Jocelyn was …
A Closer Look at Controlling Cholesterol during Pregnancy
By Mara Gaudette, MS, CGC, Teratogen Information Specialist, MotherToBaby California The chat message came through promptly at my morning start time. The words and exclamation marks clearly highlighted worry. “Just found out I’m pregnant! Taking a statin medication to lower cholesterol since 6th grade! Talked to my doctor and stopped taking it yesterday. But what damage have I already done? I know it’s a class X drug! Need info – please help!” Mae agreed to a phone call, and I logged off from …