Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2014, 11(8), 7993-8009; doi:10.3390/ijerph110807993
Antibiotic Use and Misuse during Pregnancy and Delivery: Benefits and Risks
1
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Geneva University Hospitals, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
2
Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
Received: 1 June 2014 / Revised: 25 July 2014 / Accepted: 28 July 2014 / Published: 7 August 2014
View Full-Text
|
Download PDF [263 KB, uploaded 7 August 2014]
Abstract
Although pregnancy is considered as a physiological state, most pregnant women in developed countries receive multiple medications to prevent maternal or neonatal complications, with antibiotics among the most frequently prescribed. During pregnancy, antibiotics are often prescribed in the context of preterm labor, intrapartum fever, prevention of neonatal Group B Streptococcus fever, and cesarean section. Outside this period, they are commonly prescribed in the community setting for respiratory, urinary, and ear, nose and throat infection symptoms. Whereas some of the current indications have insightful reasons to justify their use, potential risks related to overuse and misuse may surpass the benefits. Of note, the recent 2014 World Health Assembly expressed serious concern regarding antibiotic resistance due to antibiotic overuse and misuse and urged immediate action to combat antibiotic resistance on a global scale. Most studies in the obstetrics field have focused on the benefits of antibiotics for short-term maternal and neonatal complications, but with very little (if any) interest in long-term consequences. View Full-Text
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0).
Scifeed alert for new publications
Never miss any articles matching your research from any publisher- Get alerts for new papers matching your research
- Find out the new papers from selected authors
- Updated daily for 49'000+ journals and 6000+ publishers
- Define your Scifeed now
Share & Cite This Article
MDPI and ACS Style
de Tejada, B.M. Antibiotic Use and Misuse during Pregnancy and Delivery: Benefits and Risks. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2014, 11, 7993-8009.
Related Articles
Article Metrics
Comments
[Return to top]
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health
EISSN 1660-4601
Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland
RSS
E-Mail Table of Contents Alert