I am 12 weeks pregnant.Is it safe to take antibiotics for cough?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am 12 weeks pregnant. My doctor has prescribed me tablet Moxclav 625 antibiotic for cough and infection. I also take progesterone tablet. Are these tablets safe for my baby? Please advice.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Ideally, till 14 weeks of pregnancy, no antibiotics are prescribed.

Symptomatic and natural methods of management of cough and sore throat (if present) are advised. This is because these are the organ forming weeks for the fetus and hence all antibiotics are usually avoided as a safety precaution. But if the infection has increased and the situation is such that fever is continuous with a bad sore throat, yellow sputum and cough, then pregnancy-safe antibiotics like Amoxicillin alone without Clavulanic acid combination is considered safe before 14 weeks. Another antibiotic being Azithromycin 500 mg single dose daily can be taken for 5 days safely.

Progesterone, on the other hand, is an absolutely safe medication and given during the first trimester to support the pregnancy in the form of adequate placentation into the uterus and sufficient trophoblastic invasion into the endometrium for better uteroplacental flow. So, progesterone at this stage is absolutely safe.

However, it is advised that before using antibiotics you may try warm saline gargles thrice a day and steam inhalation twice a day accompanied with adequate hydration as symptomatic management. If this fails, you can then resort to antibiotics.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

You can continue for at least 3 days (Moxiclav 625) and simultaneously continue the warm saline gargles and steam inhalation as well. If after the third day you feel that the cough and sputum have not subsided, but if there is no fever then you may still stop the medication and resort to natural means. You can then watch for a week and if cough reoccurs or worsens then you may start tablet Azithromycin 500 mg once a day for 3 days which has better acceptability and safer in pregnancy.

Feeling hungry and tired is due to the progesterone effect and it is normal to feel this in early pregnancy. So, you need not worry. Advise is try to take as much less medication during pregnancy as possible. Though iron, calcium and folic acid are the only medicines to be used throughout pregnancy, none apart from them are actually required.

Keep yourself safe from infections and maintain good hygiene.