Resources and drug information on pharmacotherapy in pregnancy

Overview

Pregnancy is a unique period requiring careful assessment of safety and effectiveness of pharmacotherapeutic interventions regarding the mother and foetus. The main source of information on the choice of a drug in pregnancy is usually the summary of product information, which often offers only brief general information and encourages excessive caution. The aim of this article is therefore a narrative overview of available professional information resources on medication use during pregnancy, which can be utilized in the care of pregnant women taking medicines. It demonstrates national and international monographs, biomedical databases, clinical guidelines, specialized professional web portals for healthcare professionals, adverse drug reaction reporting databases, teratology information services, and congenital anomaly registries. The article also emphasizes that a comprehensive approach including systematic utilization of all available information sources to healthcare professional, multidisciplinary cooperation and applying evidence-based medicine principles are essential when searching for and critically evaluating information use in pregnancy.

Keywords:

adverse drug reactions – drug safety in pregnancy – drug information centre – professional information resources – teratology information services