More than 90 percent of women use at least one medicine during pregnancy, after all, you can still get a cold while pregnant or you may have a chronic disease that requires medication. Unfortunately, many drug  studies have not included pregnant women and thus we may not have all the data we need to know if they are safe to take during pregnancy.   About half of women ages 18 to 44 years old use the internet to determine if they can take their medicines during pregnancy.  A new study shows that many internet sites list medicines that they say are safe to take during pregnancy despite a lack of evidenced-based safety data.  Remember, if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant:

• Talk to your doctor about any medications you are taking or thinking about taking. This includes prescription and over-the-counter medicines, as well as dietary or herbal supplements.
• Don’t stop or start taking any type of medicine that you need without first talking with a health care provider.
• Check with your health care provider about the information that you find online. A conversation with your health care provider can help ensure that you are taking only what is necessary.

Learn more about medication use during pregnancy, and visit the CDC’s Medications and Pregnancy webpage.