What a relief! Heartburn medication safe during pregnancy

Mothers-to-be need not fear using heartburn medications during their pregnancy, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine Wednesday. Danish researchers studied over 5000 cases of women using heartburn medications of the “proton-pump inhibitor” type — including Prilosec (omeprazole) — four weeks prior to and during the first trimester of pregnancy. While the study authors found that using the medication during pregnancy did not increase the risk birth defects, those using the proton-pump inhibitors, with the exception of omeprazole, just prior to conception had an increased the risk of major birth defects by 39 percent.

Like the study authors, ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross dismisses the latter finding as unfeasible. “The medication is not retained in the body for more than a few hours, so the authors cannot explain this finding, nor do they believe it. How could a drug that remains in the body only briefly affect a future pregnancy? However, if I had a patient of child-bearing potential with gastrointestinal reflux disease symptoms, I would probably just play it safe and have her take Prilosec as needed, including during pregnancy.”