Patient's question:
I originally didn't want to have children with my girlfriend, so we used post-coital contraception. A while ago, she got a cold, which was quite severe—she seemed to have some sinus issues, but we didn’t pay much attention and just bought medicine to take. Now, however, the check revealed she’s pregnant. Our contraception failed. I’d like to ask if there are any effects of birth control pills and cold medicine on the fetus? Can we keep this baby?Follow-up question: I’m not really sure what specific medications she took, so could you tell me which medications could affect the fetus? Also, I’d like to know when pregnancy symptoms usually start?
Doctor's answer:
Contraceptive drugs are composed of a large amount of hormones, primarily designed to inhibit ovulation in women. They can cause significant damage to a woman's liver, kidney, and ovarian functions. If pregnancy occurs while taking these drugs, it may lead to miscarriage, embryonic arrest, or malformations. To ensure the health of the baby. It is recommended that in such cases, the pregnancy should not be carried to term. If the pregnancy is insisted on being carried forward, it is essential to undergo prenatal examinations. A Down syndrome screening should be performed between weeks 14 and 19, and a 4D ultrasound for prenatal anomaly detection should be conducted between weeks 22 and 26. If necessary, an amniocentesis and umbilical cord blood analysis should be performed between weeks 16 and 20 to clearly determine the baby's development inside the womb. If any abnormal development is detected, the pregnancy should be terminated promptly.