for what ails you
Filed Under Pregnancy and Birthing, Tips & Tricks | March 18, 2010
The changing of the clocks signals the changing of the seasons, and we all know what that means…the onset of the dreaded spring cold. No problem! Just pop a couple of cold pills, suck back some Nyquil and sleep until it all goes away. But what do you do if you are pregnant? You don’t want to take anything that may hurt your baby, but you feel dreadful and you just aren’t getting any better.
Thankfully, there is Motherrisk. The Motherisk Program at The Hospital for Sick Children is a program that provides information about the safety or risk to the developing baby of the mother’s exposure to drugs, chemicals, diseases, radiation and environmental agents.
We found some of the website a little bit overwhelming and excessively clinical, but what the Motherisk Program does extremely well is provide accessible information with the Motherisk Pregnancy Wallet Card.
This card contains basic information on the risk and safety of products and medications in pregnancy. You can get a Wallet Card by sending a self-addressed, stamped enveloped to Motherisk, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave.,Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, or even better, ask your local pharmacist if she has one to give you as these cards are available to pharmacists and healthcare providers. And if she doesn’t have one, encourage her to order them.
Remember-not every medication poses a risk to your unborn baby. However, some do. Read labels. Talk to your pharmacist. Discuss the relative risks and benefits of any prescribed drug therapy and do not take over-the-counter drugs or naturopathic remedies without first consulting your doctor, midwife or pharmacist. And if you can’t get a hold of them, contact the BC Nurses Line at 8-1-1. Pharmacists and physicians are on call to assist the nurses on the line, so you can get safety information when you need it.
Of course, sometimes, the best cure of all is rest and a big bowl of chicken soup. And you don’t need a prescription for that.
Motherrisk: www.motherisk.org
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