Every minute, a woman somewhere in the world dies in childbirth or from complications of pregnancy.
But there is an inexpensive medicine that could save a great many of these women’s lives — misoprostol.
Misoprostol is a generic drug originally developed to treat ulcers, but it’s predominately used off-label for obstetrics. When a mother takes it immediately after delivery, it can effectively stop the leading cause of maternal death in most developing countries: postpartum hemorrhage or excessive bleeding. What’s more, it’s an easy-to-take tablet with a long shelf life, so it’s suitable for the vast majority of women who deliver at home, in remote villages, far from skilled medical care.… Seguir leyendo »
When diseases like swine flu hit, pregnant women are especially at risk. And yet we know surprisingly little about how to treat them. In its guidelines for the antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that pregnant women infected or at high risk for infection should take the recommended adult dosage: “Pregnancy should not be considered a contraindication” to taking the drugs, because the benefits of treatment “likely outweigh the theoretical risks of antiviral use.”
But we don’t know whether this is true. Concerns about the ethics of performing drug studies on pregnant women mean we know far less about how to treat them.… Seguir leyendo »
Utilizamos cookies para el correcto funcionamiento de la página web y analíticas para estadísticas.ACEPTARPolítica de privacidad
