Medicines in Pregnancy

Women who are pregnant will often require medication, but using medicines in pregnancy should involve carefully considered decisions due to the potential for harm to the foetus. This module provides an overview of the risks associated with taking some medications in pregnancy. Australia has a categorisation system for prescribing medications that has been based on the evidence available. The module provides the definitions of each category.

At the end of this module participants will be able to:

• Understand why some medications may cause harm during pregnancy.
• Understand the main physiological changes that occur during pregnancy that effect the way medications work during pregnancy.
• Understand that there are limitations to the research and knowledge about the effects of some medications in pregnancy.
• Identify the Australian categories for prescribing medicines in pregnancy.