Need answer - Did antibiotics cause my miscarriage

[justwaiting]

Hi everyone,
I had a missed miscarriage found out at 11 weeks baby had been dead for several weeks prior and had a d&c to remove my baby 7 weeks ago. Last night while talking to my neighbour she mentioned that antibiotics can cause birth defects, I was on antibiotics when we found out I was pregnant for a chest infection. I had let the dr know I thought I might be pregnant. I can't find the answer on the web, all I can find is taking antibiotics after miscarriage, so I thought I would try one here, has anyone heard that antibiotics can cause miscarriage or that taking them in early pregnancy can cause defects that can cause miscarriage?
It doing my head in, that I could have caused it by taking the antibiotics?

 

[Hollybush75]

Is your neighbour a medical professional? I'm thinking not. I'm so angry on your behalf. Antibiotics do not cause miscarriage/birth defects and you need to tell your neighbour to stop saying things which are totally untrue. What about all the ladies who have taken antibiotics for whatever reason and have a perfectly healthy baby?

I'm sorry for your loss and your grief is most certainly not helped by people who know nothing

 

[diverdi]

There are a few antibiotics that can cause birth defects but not ones that are incompatible with life so shouldn't cause a miscarriage. If you had a chest infection you would have been on amoxicillin or if you are allergic to penicillin then it would be erythro- or clarithromycin, all of these are safe in pregnancy.
If you know what antibiotics you were given post it here and I will let you know if they were okay.

 

[nevsha]

I was quite poorly prior to knowing i was pregnant and took everything going i then went on antibiotics and then found out i was pregnant then found out my pregnancy was not viable. I have look back briefly and thought if only i hadnt take this that and the other etc but i now look at it more logically.......the same happened 18years ago with my first pregnancy and i ended up with a perfect pregnancy and perfect baby. Im sure you know or have seen some woman who smoke heavily, drink throughout and generally do not look after themselves and do not miscarry. I think the hardest part of all this is that many of us are left with no answers as to why we have lost our babies and then spend a big part searching for some reasoning behind it. One thing for sure is that you did not cause it. This site is a good source of comfort and support, by trawling through the net the information can often be inaccurate and cause you more distress or torment; i spent last weekend doing just that. I am so sorry for your loss xxx

 

[holly2234]

Antibiotics are prescribed routinely throughout pregnancy for UTI's and such so im sure it wont have caused it

 

[justwaiting]

Thank you all for your responses, they have put my mind at ease that I didn't cause the miscarriage.
Diverdi - clarithromycin is what I was prescribed from memory and that was one of the safe ones you mentioned. Thank you
We have started trying again and making sure there is nothing I could have changed about last time to make the outcome different is very important to me.
We all know we did nothing to cause our miscarriage but there is always that self doubt coz we are the ones who carried the baby it is our responsibility and the smallest seed of doubt planted can cause so much pain. thank you for all your responses this site has been an absolute god send, I no longer feel alone

 

[nevsha]

Carrying a baby is a huge responsibility and often it leaves us feeling helpless even when we do and eat everything we should and look after ourselves but that is because we do take it that seriously. Please try not to doubt yourself AND on the brighter side......dont ware yourself out in trying to do the above either im sure all that your doing is spot on so relax try and blow that little seed of doubt away. Sending you good health and baby dust. I wish you the best of luck. xxxx

 

[UpsideDown35]

I know that this post is very old, however since it applies to me, I feel the need to respond. I want to say that I do not believe that the comments are accurate. Although many antibiotics have been safely taken while pregnant, this is not the case for all of them.

According to a report by Danish researchers, "Use of the antibiotic clarithromycin (Biaxin) in the first trimester of pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of miscarriage."

I took this antibiotic when I was about 5 weeks pregnant. At 7 weeks I had a positive pregnancy test, which was confirmed by my doctor. The ultrasound confirmed my worst fear. The baby had no heart beat.

I am 100% convinced that this antibiotic caused my miscarriage. My doctor also agreed that it was highly likely based on his research of clarithromycin (Biaxin).

So please do your research on any medication that is prescribed to you while pregnant. If it is not absolutely necessary for your survival, then do not take it. The risk that comes with prescription medications is too high and not worth losing your baby. I will NEVER take take that chance again.

 

[nicole6212]

Before I knew I was pregnant, I had to have a wisdom tooth extracted and was prescribed clarithromycin. I wasn't thinking about the possibility of being pregnant, as I had basically written of that cycle, and a pregnancy test a few days before was negative. It turns out I was pregnant, and last week I miscarried. There is only one study that I could find about that antibiotic and miscarriage, which stated women that took clarithromycin in the first trimester were 56% more likely to miscarry that woman that did not take the drug. This study was published after this thread was started.
Now I feel like the miscarriage was all my fault.

The study:
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0053327

 

[justwaiting]

Hi ladies,
I'm the original poster, in my case my miscarriages (i ended up having two in 5 months) is that I don 't make enough progesterone to sustain a pregnancy on my own. I have since gone on to have 1 baby and am 32wks pregnant with my 2nd with the help of progesterone.

This post is about 3.5yrs old and I can imagine that new studies have been conducted into antibiotics and their effect on a pregnant woman.
I agree with you that taking any medication during pregnancy is risky and unless necessary shouldn't be taken, but please remember that you didn't take the meds with the intention or knowledge that it could harm your baby. Your not respsonsible for the passing of your baby. It is a horrid event that happens to far too many women for a variety of reasons.

Be kind to yourself ladies and don't feel guilty for something you can't change.