Drugs in Pregnancy: Neonatal Aspects

Birth defects are the most feared hazards of mater- nal drug exposure during pregnancy. But if prescribed at the end of pregnancy, maternal treatments do not carry a malfor- mative risk anymore, but may have adverse effects during the first post-natal days. As most drugs cross the placenta, medications taken until delivery may be present in newborn and cause symptoms linked to their pharmacological/toxico- logical profile. Nevertheless, after a thorough benefit-risk evaluation, some treatments essential for maternal disease control might be used during pregnancy despite known neo- natal effects. Fetal and neonatal effects of in utero drugs exposure are reviewed, firstly by affected neonatal functions and then by main pharmacological categories. The know- ledge of neonatal effects of drugs taken late in pregnancy is necessary to set up an appropriate newborn care when the treatment is known, and also to think of drug-induced effects when facing neonatal symptoms without clear etiology.