Pregnant women need to be careful while using medicines. Because, their eating habits, lifestyle and diseases affect the child growing in their stomach. This is the reason why every pregnant woman remains very careful during these nine months. Recently, a report published in JAMA Psychiatry Journal has revealed that benzodiazepine medicines used in the treatment of anxiety, depression and insomnia can be extremely fatal during pregnancy. According to research, taking these medicines during pregnancy may increase the risk of miscarriage.
Benzodiazepines, commonly known as benzos, are a type of sedative medication that causes sleep because sedative medications slow down brain activity. According to a report published in Daily Mail, Xanax, Valium, and Klonopin are some of the most commonly taken medicines.
In the study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, Taiwanese researchers looked at the incidence of miscarriage among women exposed to benzos before, during and after pregnancy. They studied more than three million pregnancy cases and found that 4.4 percent, or 136,130 cases, resulted in miscarriage. They analyzed the medical histories of all the women studied and found that women who were given benzo drugs were, on average, 70 percent more likely to miscarry than women who did not take these pills.
The researchers also found that this high risk remained even when other complicating factors, such as the woman's age and health, were taken into account. The risk of miscarriage increased by 67 percent with long-acting benzos like Valium, while it increased by 66 percent with Versed benzos, according to the study. A drug called alprazolam, which has a generic version of Xanax, was at 39 percent. Was the least risky.
Reports say that when benzos are used during pregnancy, it may cross the link between the mother and the placenta, causing the fetus to be directly exposed to the drugs. Exposure to benzodiazepines can cause defects in fetal development, which can lead to miscarriage.
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