Angela Onwuzoo A Consultant Family Physician, Family Health Department, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. John Ovuoraye, has asked pregnant women to desist from taking malaria and cough medicines without a doctor’s prescription. According to the physician, the use of malaria or cough medicines during pregnancy without the doctor’s prescription could lead to birth defects.
Ovuoraye noted that though the causes of women giving birth to babies with congenital defects could be many, some were a result of medication taken during pregnancy, warning that not all orthodox medicines could be administered to a pregnant woman even if it was registered by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control. The physician gave the warning during an exclusive interview with PUNCH HealthWise while also cautioning expectant mothers against the risk of over-the-counter drugs in general. He explained, “All drugs that are administered on people for one ailment or the other, some of them might not be safe for a pregnant woman.
The doctor knows that those drugs can affect the development of the baby. “Even if a pregnant woman was taking a particular drug before she became pregnant, now that she is pregnant, she may not be able to take it again in order not to affect the development of the baby. So, pregnant women should only take drugs based on a doctor’s prescription.
“When a woman is pregnant, instead of going to the chemist or pharmacy to buy drugs on .