2.22.1 The general risk of poisoning in pregnancy Poisoning in pregnancy may be accidental or intentional, and may reflect acute (e.g. deliberate overdose, therapeutic error) or chronic (e.g. environmental or occupational) exposure to one or more substances. Whilst risk to…
Introduction Use of recreational drugs and other substances by women of childbearing potential, and during pregnancy varies widely across different populations. Whilst some women discontinue, or attempt to reduce use of alcohol, nicotine and other recreational drugs once pregnant, a…
Before exposing a woman who is, or may be, pregnant to diagnostics, a pertinent risk-benefit estimation should be made, as exposure towards ionizing radiation must be minimized. Magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) can be safely used but ultrasonography remains the imaging…
Plants and plant extracts have been used for medicinal purposes since before recorded time. Many pharmaceutical agents have their origins in plant-based compounds. In a trend towards returning to the “natural,” and believing that such agents are safer, patients worldwide…
Vitamins and minerals are organic foods found only in plants and animals, and are essential to the normal functioning of the body. However, the actual definition of the term “essential” is not applied to all vitamins. Vitamin imbalances can be…
In this chapter, the most important dermatological medications as well as other frequently used topical therapeutics will be discussed. More extensive information on individual medications can be found under the substance headings in other chapters. Anti-infectives are discussed in Chapter…
Due to their lipid solubility, general anesthetic agents rapidly cross the blood–brain barrier and the placenta. In addition to their sleep-inducing effect in the brain, they also frequently have a depressant effect on the respiratory center. Thus, during the perinatal…
Hormones are the body’s own messenger substances which carry out specific regulating functions in the cells of their respective effector organs and thereby control physiologic processes. Their regulation takes place on three levels, the hypothalamic level (primary releasing function), the…
Uterine contraction agents and tocolytics are among the most frequently used drugs in obstetrics. The former are generally effective but carry the risk of uterine overstimulation and fetal asphyxia in cases of labor induction or augmentation. They should be titrated…
Malignant disease is rare in pregnancy and requires expert interdisciplinary medical and psychosocial support. To give a pregnant woman the best chance for survival, cancer is often treated in the same way that it would be if the woman were…