The very young and pregnant women are two groups who should almost never be prescribed general pharmaceuticals. Trials have never been carried out to discover the biochemical effects on such a small and developing body, or on a fetus.
Nonetheless, we know that doctors have been disregarding this guideline, which is attached to every pharmaceutical drug, in prescribing to small children. Our research has found that children as young as three have been prescribed powerful antidepressants, a worrying practice that has been going on for at least 15 years.
But a new study has discovered that doctors are also regularly prescribing inappropriate drugs to pregnant women. Nobody is quite sure about the extent of the problem, but researchers say that 'substantial' numbers of pregnant women are prescribed drugs that drug companies know may harm the fetus.
The researchers reviewed data on prescription drug usage among a group of 152,531 pregnant women between 1996 and 2000. Of these, 64 per cent were prescribed some medication other than a vitamin or mineral supplement, and, of these, 40 per cent received a drug for which human safety during pregnancy had not been established. Worst of all, 5 per cent were prescribed a drug that was known to possibly cause some fetal risk.