Some dangers of antidepressants and certain antibiotics during pregnancy

Children exposed to antidepressants during pregnancy seem to be at a slightly higher risk of autism than children of mothers with psychiatric disorders who were not treated with antidepressants during pregnancy, finds a study published in The BMJ, although the absolute risk of autism was small.

 A new study published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology has found links between certain antibiotics during pregnancy and major congenital malformations in newborns. Clindamycin, doxycycline, quinolones, macrolides, and phenoxymethylpenicillin were linked to organ-specific malformations, although the absolute risks for birth defects were small. Amoxicillin, cephalosporins, and nitrofurantoin were not associated with birth defects.