British researchers warn pregnant women that by taking a popular antibiotic they can expose their unborn babies to epilepsy and cerebral palsy.
Researchers are calling for a safety check of erythromycin, a popular antibiotic used to fight bacterial infections, urinary tract inflammation and pneumonia. Due to the spectrum of action similar to penicillin, erythromycin is prescribed to people who are allergic to the first drug.
A team of researchers from Great Ormond Street Hospital and University College London, analyzed the brain function of nearly 200 British children, a third of whom had taken antibiotics while pregnant.
Overall, there was no evidence of an increased incidence of epilepsy or cerebral palsy in the children of mothers taking antibiotics during pregnancy, but one type of antibiotic caused concern among researchers.
Women who took erythromycin or other macrolide antibiotics were twice as likely to give birth to children with brain disease than those who received penicillin treatment during pregnancy.
One thing is for sure, Dr. Christoph Lees of University College London told The Daily Mail that pregnant women should definitely take prescribed antibiotics as complications from an untreated infection can be catastrophic for the unborn baby.
“To be clear, the additional risk to a child of taking macrolides, if any, is very small,” he added.
A spokesman for the MHRA, the UK’s drug safety and treatment safety agency, says: “Pregnant women who have been prescribed antibiotics should continue treatment as directed, but if they have any concerns they should speak to their doctor.
The results of the study are published by the online scientific journal PLoS ONE.