Is it safe to use metronidazole during pregnancy?

Metronidazole is the most commonly used for the treatment of rosacea, trichomoniasis and bacterial vaginosis. American food and drug administration (FDA) classifies it during pregnancy category B, which usually means that animal studies have not shown any bad effects on fruits. However, this drug has shown evidence that it increases the risk of cancer when used in pregnant rats, and therefore pregnant women are often advised to avoid metronidazole in pregnancy. Conflict evidence means that doctors can only prescribe metronidazole during pregnancy if they believe it is the only medicine that can get rid of certain bacterial infections, but tend to wait at least for the first trimester. However, they found that this medicine could cause abortion when injected directly into the abdomen of pregnant animals. It adds that this drug can act as carcinogen, because rats and mice administered by metronidazole during pregnancy have more often developed cancer than those that did not accept the drug.While humans and animals often respond differently to medicines, no studies have been completed to show whether this medicine increases the risk of cancer in humans and should therefore be used with caution.

Although metronidazole during pregnancy may be prescribed by doctors who believe it is the only treatment of the problem, usually should not be taken in the first trimester. When used later during pregnancy, it is often divided into small doses, as the use of one large dose can be harmful. Breastfeeding mothers are also discouraged from taking the drug because some of them end up in breast milk and the effects on the child are not known as in 2011.

Generally, doctors conventional prescribes metronidazole only during pregnancy if the benefits outweigh risks. For example, bacterial vaginosis can lead to premature birth and low birth weight if not treated so doctors can prescribe metronidazole to get rid ofIli infections and related risks. Trichomoniasis can also cause low birth weight, premature birth and premature membrane rupture, but evidence shows that treatment during pregnancy does not necessarily reduce these risks and may even increase them. For this reason, it can only be treated when the symptoms are extreme. Similarly, the use of metronidazole in pregnancy to treat Rosacea may not be appropriate, unless the case is serious, because this condition rarely causes long -term damage to the mother or fetus, which means that treatment can often wait for the child to be born.