Aspirin For Pregnant Women: Is It Safe?

By: Ambili S Kartha

Nowadays, women are prone to different kinds of aches.  Leg pain, period pain, back pain, headache, and what not!! We can blame it on our work pressure, health issues, change in lifestyle and food we eat.  Whatever the reason is, one thing is almost a common practice – reaching for Aspirin to combat the pain. Yes. We do agree that the aspirin is excellent for eradicating any kind of pain No doubt. We all know pain is a part of pregnancy as well. So, how safe is to take aspirin during pregnancy? Read on.

What Is Aspirin?

Aspirin is a non- steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug.  Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) is its active component. It is most effectively used to treat pain, fever, and inflammation.  Its effects, as a rule, begin within 30 minutes after swallowing it.

What Is Baby Aspirin?

As the name indicates baby aspirins are low dose aspirins. A single pill of baby aspirin contains 81 milligrams of aspirin. In an adult aspirin, it is 325 mg. Thus, the aspirin content in a baby aspirin will be only around 1/4^th that of an adult aspirin. Despite the fact that frequent intake of an adult aspirin brings about several adverse side effects, daily intake of baby aspirin is used in the treatment of several health issues. It is a blood thinner and helps to prevent blood clots.  Baby aspirin therapy effectively brings down the risk of heart attack and stroke.  It can be effectively used to treat several pregnancy complications.

Is It Safe To Take Aspirin During Pregnancy?

The answer is “no” in the majority of cases. Taking standard aspirin without the acknowledgment of your doctor can bring about unwanted consequences.  However, it is not that perilous to take an adult aspirin occasionally during pregnancy. But taking an adult aspirin whenever pain bothers you (like when you are not pregnant) is not at all a good idea during pregnancy. It will definitely bring about severe maternal, or fetal complications, or both.

When Should You Take Aspirin In Pregnancy?

If you have previously taken aspirin for a particular health condition, you may have to go on with it during pregnancy as well.  Your doctor will decide whether to continue or go for an alternative depending on the severity of the health issue for which you are taking aspirin

However, sometimes doctors use baby aspirin is to reduce the risk of certain pregnancy complicatedness like pre-eclampsia and preterm delivery.

During Which Month Of Pregnancy You Should Start Taking Aspirin ?

Your doctor will prescribe baby aspirin,

• If you have a history of early-onset pre-eclampsia, baby aspirin or low-dose aspirin is used towards the late first trimester (i.e., around the 12th week of pregnancy) to prevent or delay the early onset of pre-eclampsia.
• If you have a history of onset of preeclampsia in the third trimester, baby aspirin is incorporated between 20^th and 28^th weeks of pregnancy.
• If you have a history of repeated preterm delivery, and IUGR, baby aspirin is used as a preventive measure to avoid it. Women with the risk of preterm delivery, when started baby aspirin therapy before 20 weeks of gestation are found able to push the delivery past 34^th

However, the baby aspirin therapy generally stops two weeks before the due date, thereby, allowing the blood clotting to fall back to normal. Or else, the mother has a higher chance of subjecting to severe hemorrhage.

Can Aspirin Cause A Miscarriage During Early Pregnancy?

Several studies confirm that intake of aspirin at the beginning of pregnancy or just about the time of conception has a potential to bring about a miscarriage. Actually, the miscarriage risk for women taking aspirin could be seven times higher than those who stay away from this medicine.

There is another side to this.  It is found that baby aspirin if taken regularly before conception enhances the odds of conception.

What Are The Effects Of Aspirin During Late Pregnancy?

Taking adult aspirin towards the end of the third trimester of pregnancy can,

• Increase the risk of placental abruption to some extent.
• Lead to premature closure of the Ductus Arteriosus, a blood vessel that supplies nutrient and oxygen to the baby. This blood vessel ought to close immediately after delivery. The premature closure of this vessel (when the baby is still in the womb) necessitates the need for a preterm delivery.
• Slow down the labor and, thereby, increases the risk of cardiac and pulmonary issues in the newborn
• Bring about severe hemorrhage and other bleeding issues  for mother and child during delivery
• Increase the risk of bleeding in the brain of a preemie

When Is Aspirin Advisable During Pregnancy?

• If you have a history of repeated miscarriage
• If you have a history of preeclampsia and has increased odds to develop one in the current pregnancy.
• If you have a disorder that causes the blood clot
• If you have pregnancy-induced hypertension

When Is Aspirin Not Advisable During Pregnancy?

• If you are allergic to aspirin
• If you are asthmatic. Aspirin sometimes aggravates the asthmatic symptoms
• If you have a bleeding disorder.
• If preeclampsia is already established.
• During early pregnancy, as it increases the chances of miscarriage.

What Are The Side Effects Of Aspirin During Pregnancy?

• Taking standard or adult aspirin frequently during the early pregnancy is linked with several birth defects
• Taking standard dose aspirin after 30 weeks of pregnancy can give rise to oligohydramnios, a condition where there is too little amniotic fluid. Oligohydramnios has an adverse impact on the unborn baby. It can give rise to,
• Underdeveloped lungs
• Underdeveloped urinary bladder
• Reduced blood flow from mother due to the compressed umbilical cord
• Deformation of skull and leg bones

Will My Baby Need Extra Monitoring During Pregnancy If I take Aspirin?

• If you are already taking aspirin while pregnancy, the doctor will assess your health and fetal development
• Taking baby aspirin during pregnancy is not at all harmful and there is no need of extra monitoring. However, if the doctor prescribed baby aspirin for reducing the chances of developing preeclampsia and recurrent miscarriage, or to treat the cardiac issues of the mother, close monitoring is significant for the safe progression of pregnancy

Is There Any Safe Substitute For Aspirin During Pregnancy?

When you have to take something to ease the pain during pregnancy, Acetaminophen (Tylenol or paracetamol) is a safer option.

Some Interesting Facts About Aspirin

• Aspirin is the first of the three most used drugs in the world
• More than 120 billion Aspirin Tablets are used per year
• Acetylsalicylic acid, the active component of Aspirin was initially isolated from the bark of a willow tree.
• One who drinks more than three alcoholic beverages per day should not take aspirin

Pregnancy is a very delicate phase of your life.  Therefore, double check and think before incorporating any medicines, even if in your pre-pregnancy days you had it whenever you feel.  There are several natural remedies for the majority of pain and discomforts you feel during the pregnancy.

Source: https://www.beingtheparent.com/aspirin-for-pregnant-women-is-it-safe/

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