I've come up with this post upon seeing Facebook pictures of babies put into a jar with different deformities and remembered our lessons about teratology. Teratology means the scientific study of congenital deformities. But we focused our study on drugs that may cause deformities when taken during pregnancy. There are certain guidelines issued about the use of drugs during pregnancy. I'll include some list of drugs that are prohibited during pregnancy and their possible deformity.

It's always not easy to decide whether to give the drug or not to the mother especially if it's the only option that you've got. In short, it's about "risk versus benefit" and obviously this is one of the hardest decision that the parents and the health care team will be making. Both lives are at stake and you've got to choose what's best. As pharmacists, it is part of our duty to discuss with the physician regarding the drug to be administered. This needs a thorough understanding and application of the drug's mechanism and safety. Most importantly, the principles of bioethics must always be applied. Also, my best advice is to always seek for an assistance from your doctor before taking any medicine when you are pregnant. So here's a short list of teratogens that I can still remember.

Teratogens (Drugs that cause deformities):

Alcohol

- Fetal alcohol syndrome (Mostly facial deformity)

Thalidomide

- Phocomelia (Hands and feet are near the trunk)

Phenytoin

- Cleft lip, microcephaly

Warfarin

- Growth retardation

Tetracycline

- Discoloured teeth, bone defect

Isotretinoin

(Treatment for acne/Accutane®) - Mental abnormalities, craniofacial deformity

Methotrexate

- Limb abnormalities

Anticonvulsant

- Neural tube defects

(This isn't a complete list so if you want to know more you can do your research.)

So now, if you're​ reading this and you are pregnant or knows someone who might be, try to share what you've learned and let's help prevent this incident but you must also be guided that there some deformities that might be genetic or might be caused by other factors. Still, let's try our best to spread the knowledge and save lives.

For the picture, it's not mine and you might check it from this link: http://tripfreakz.com/offthebeatenpath/museum-of-mutants-in-amsterdam-museum-vrolik or simply search: Museum Vrolik.

Museum Vrolik is known to be one of the largest collection of human deformities located at Amsterdam and I'm really hoping to visit the museum someday.

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