Simply Safe Meds

You probably wish the label on your meds would be clearer, because frankly codes A, B, C, D and X don’t mean anything when you have a million other things on your mind. Cut the time spent standing on your swollen feet while the doctor tries to prescribe a medication you can take while pregnant.

Instead of trying to remember which letter meant what, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed a way to help doctors. Labels would no longer be coded, but instead state specifically what research on that specific drug shows about risk to a fetus or breastfeeding mommas.

We know babies and their mommies are important people (duh, 'cause you're one!) but they are also part of a largely populated group. The FDA says “there are six million pregnancies a year in the United States, and pregnant women take an average of three to five prescription drugs during their pregnancy.”

Consideration of this new rule is open for 90 days of public comment before a decision will be made. Specificity is the goal: labels will state what meds are unsafe during which trimesters, the pros and cons of taking a drug and maybe even one day, the statistical risks of birth defects from certain medications. That ought to make the pharmaceutical companies real happy.

Want to voice your opinion? Tell the FDA at Regulations.gov…but before you do, get some practice on what you’re gonna say—right here! [Associated Press]