Drugs and conception

Check prescribed medications
Make an appointment to see your doctor to discuss whether any medications you are taking could cause problems with conception, or whether you will have any special needs once you are pregnant.

You should also check with your doctor as to whether or not you should be taking folate supplements if you are using precription medications.

Remember, do not simply discontinue prescribed medications without first seeking advice from your doctor.

Other medications (drugs)
If you take any drugs or medication, whether prescribed or not, you should check with your doctor what effect they will have on both your fertility (when trying to get pregnant) and on the development of your baby (once you are pregnant).

If you take pain killers, whether for headaches or other pain, you should also check with your doctor whether these are safe to use once you are pregnant.

You should stop using any recreational drugs prior to conception. But do not just quit - first talk to your doctor about your current usage and the best method of changing your drug habit safely. For some drugs, it may be safer to reduce doses over a period of time with close supervision.

Some of the drugs to be avoided if you are trying to conceive or are already pregnant include:

Nicotine
Smoking affects your fertility, can harm your unborn baby and can impact on your newborn.

Alcohol
It is best to avoid alcohol throughout your pregnancy. Research cannot confirm a safe level of alcohol intake so quitting alcohol altogether is the safest choice.

Tranquillisers
Used during pregnancy, tranquillisers can result in withdrawal symptoms for your baby after birth. The symptoms can include sleeplessness, shakiness, restlessness and feeding problems. Talk to your doctor about cutting back tranquilliser-use safely. Continued...