Almost all women are aware that during pregnancy they should avoid taking any medications because they can have serious consequences. Therefore, it is not worth the risk. Of course, this is the correct position, but in some cases it is impossible to avoid drug therapy. After all, other emerging pathologies turn out to be much more dangerous to the child’s life than the drugs that help get rid of them. One of these is Dexamethasone. It is prescribed during pregnancy for hyperandrogenism.
What is Dexamethasone?
The annotation for this drug states that it is contraindicated during pregnancy. However, it is precisely in this condition that it is prescribed to expectant mothers - precisely in order to maintain the pregnancy. And they do this in cases when the body of a pregnant woman begins to produce an increased mass of androgens - male hormones.Why is hyperandrogenism dangerous?
With this condition, hyperandrogenism develops, which leads to the risk of miscarriage and premature birth.The hormonal drug Dexamethasone in injections during pregnancy suppresses the production of androgens by the adrenal glands and ovaries, thereby reducing the threat of miscarriage. Typically, this drug is prescribed throughout pregnancy, because during the process of growth, the fetus’s body also begins to produce male hormones. This is especially unsafe if a woman is expecting a boy: his hormones join maternal androgens, and this further increases the risk of premature birth and termination of pregnancy.
Immune system activity
Dexamethasone during pregnancy inhibits the activity of these processes, so it is prescribed for hyperactivity immune system which he pauses. This activity is called autoimmune conditions. They are typical for diseases such as lupus, arthritis, hepatitis, kidney disease, etc. In these cases, the overly active immune system of the pregnant woman regards the fetus as some kind of danger and reacts to it aggressively, trying to reject it. The mother's body also suffers under this onslaught. Dexamethasone prevents this by blocking the production of antibodies that prevent pregnancy from developing.Dexamethasone instructions for use during pregnancy
This drug is a member of the class of corticosteroids and is characterized by the fact that it can penetrate the placenta. However, the dosage, verified over the years in practical endocrinology and gynecology, reduces to zero side effects for the fetus when used in the treatment of pregnant women with Dexamethasone. Usually the drug is prescribed in a dose of 1 to 3 tablets per day - this depends on the results of blood and urine tests. During therapy, you can reduce the dose of the drug, depending on the level of androgens in the body. If complications do appear, it is usually atrophy of the adrenal cortex in the fetus. Their adjustment in the form of replacement therapy is carried out in a newborn. Contraindications
Dexamethasone is not recommended for third or fourth degree obesity in a pregnant woman or for hypersensitivity to the drug. Side effects from using Dexmethasone include nausea, vomiting, low blood pressure, and the formation of stomach ulcers.However, you should not neglect treatment with this remedy, despite concerns and thinking about the negative consequences of taking the drug. Its use has been practiced for more than one year, and doctors, of course, are aware of its possible adverse effects, but that is why a pregnant woman taking Dexamethasone will be under the close supervision of specialists. Moreover, by refusing motivated treatment, you may have painful and tragic consequences for yourself - the loss of a child.
Every woman during pregnancy is afraid of harming the baby through her actions or inactions. Even with complete confidence in the doctor, the prescription of hormonal drugs during this period is questionable. One such medicine is Dexamethasone. It helps maintain pregnancy when there is an excess of male hormones, but has the potential for serious side effects.
Why do doctors prescribe Dexamethasone during pregnancy?
Dexamethasone - hormonal drug, belonging to the group of glucocorticosteroids. It has anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic and anti-exudative (anti-edematous) effects. It is used in cases where quick and effective help is needed:
- eye diseases (including non-purulent and allergic conjunctivitis);
- systemic connective tissue diseases;
- acute and chronic allergic reactions to foods and medications;
- allergic rhinitis;
- diseases of the skin, kidneys, lungs, hematopoietic organs;
- endocrine disorders.
Newborns whose mothers took Dexamethasone during pregnancy are placed under special medical supervision due to the risk of developing adrenal insufficiency
During pregnancy, the drug is prescribed to women to prevent the threat of miscarriage due to hyperandrogenism.
This is the name of a condition that is accompanied by the production of an increased amount of male hormones. They interfere with getting pregnant, bearing or giving birth to a child. With strong activity of the immune system, the body produces antibodies that try to get rid of the fetus, and Dexamethasone blocks their activity. The male fetus produces hormones, which are already abundant in a woman’s body during hyperandrogenism. Therefore, the likelihood of atrophy of the adrenal cortex ( side effect
Dexamethasone) is higher in newborn boys than in girls.
Hyperandrogenism in women - video
Using Dexamethasone to open a baby's lungs If there is a threat of premature birth, the drug may be needed not by the woman herself, but by the child. It helps open the lungs and helps the newborn breathe independently. Without Dexamethosone injections, there is a high risk that artificial ventilation of the respiratory system will be required.
For this purpose, a glucocorticosteroid is prescribed in the third trimester.
In the first and second trimesters, the medicine can be taken according to indications if the benefits of its use outweigh the risks.
Release forms and instructions for use
- Dexamethasone is available in several dosage forms:
- injection;
- pills;
eye drops.
Prescription of injections, tablets and drops Injections are administered intravenously, less often - intramuscularly and intraarticularly. They can be done no more often than one course every 3-4 months. Exceptions to this rule depend on the individual course of pregnancy and doctor's orders. The daily dose of Dexamethasone is administered 3–4 times, and the duration of treatment is 3–4 days.
Typically, injections are used for emergency therapy, when it is important to get results as quickly as possible.
The daily dose of medication in tablets is taken at a time in the morning (if the dose recommended by the doctor is large, you can divide it into 2-3 times). The drug in this form is prescribed for long-term therapy or after a course of injections, when the severity of the condition has been eliminated and the result needs to be consolidated. Drops are used topically for inflammatory diseases
Dexamethasone tablets are used when planning pregnancy to suppress the activity of male hormones. Depending on the indications, such treatment can last several months.
Contraindications and side effects
Like any medicine, Dexamethasone has contraindications. In addition to individual intolerance to the components of the composition, these include:
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (ulcers and gastritis);
- severe disruption of the cardiovascular, immune and endocrine systems;
- active form of tuberculosis;
- liver or kidney failure.
After taking Dexamethasone, a woman may experience:
- weakness;
- irritability;
- loss of appetite or, conversely, weight gain;
- convulsions;
- hallucinations;
- signs of arrhythmia;
- allergic reactions.
While taking Dexamethasone, you need to eat more foods rich in vitamins, proteins, and potassium. This will help reduce the negative effects of the drug on the body. It is also better to limit the consumption of fatty foods and carbohydrates.
Possible consequences for women and children
The likelihood of side effects of Dexamethasone increases with long-term use (as a rule, a long course of therapy is required during pregnancy). The fetus is at risk of disruption of the adrenal cortex. The most dangerous condition in this case is adrenal crisis, which can lead to death.
Analogs of the drug and hormonal drugs prescribed during pregnancy
Necessity of appointment hormonal drugs is decided individually. Their use is justified only in cases where pregnancy is to be maintained.
Dexamethasone analogues for the active substance are:
- Dexamed (injection solution, tablets);
- Decadron (injection solution, tablets);
- Dexazone (injection solution, tablets);
- Dexamethasone sodium phosphate (solution for injection);
- Maxidex (drops);
- Dexaven (injection solution);
- Fortecortin (tablets).
In case of intolerance to the components of the composition or the presence of contraindications, Dexamethasone and its analogues can be replaced by other drugs with a similar therapeutic effect.
Hormonal drugs prescribed during pregnancy - table
| Name | Release form | Active substance | Contraindications | Use during pregnancy |
| Prednisolone |
| prednisolone | sensitivity to the components of the composition (with short-term use for health reasons) | Possibly if the expected benefit to the mother outweighs the potential risk to the fetus. In the first trimester it is prescribed only for health reasons. |
| Metipred |
| methylprednisolone | ||
| Utrozhestan | capsules that can be taken orally and intravaginally | natural micronized progesterone | severe liver dysfunction (if taken orally) | It is possible, but if it is necessary to use it after the third month of pregnancy, monitoring of the functional state of the liver is necessary. |
Doctors still have not decided on a clear answer to the questions: should a pregnant woman take Dexamethasone and how safe it is for the health and development of the baby in the mother’s tummy. At the same time, some women who cannot conceive a child for a long time are prescribed Dexamethasone when planning pregnancy to reduce the production of male hormones. In this article we will look at all aspects of the use of Dexamethasone during the period of planning to conceive a child and while carrying a baby.
What is Dexamethasone
Dexamethasone is a synthetic glucocorticosteroid (an analogue of the hormone produced by the adrenal cortex) that has anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressive, and antiallergic effects. Affects protein, carbohydrate, lipid and water-electrolyte metabolism in the body. It is excreted from the body by the kidneys. Dexamethasone is available in tablet form and as an injection solution for intra-articular, intravenous and intramuscular administration.
Dexamethasone when planning pregnancy
Some women are unable to conceive or carry a child to term because the level of the male hormone testosterone in their body is much higher than normal. When planning pregnancy, dexamethasone is prescribed to normalize hormonal levels in a woman's body. Only a gynecologist should prescribe the drug, and only after the patient has undergone a full examination and done a blood test to determine the level of sex hormones.
In most cases, the doctor prescribes the woman to use the drug in tablet form and in a minimum dosage of 0.125 mg. If, while taking the drug, a woman has the long-awaited conception of a child, she must immediately contact her gynecologist for advice. Since the doctor must, based on the patient’s health status, decide whether the woman needs to continue taking Dexamethasone during pregnancy or not. In some cases, gynecologists prescribe expectant mothers to take this medication in small doses throughout the entire period of bearing the baby.
Dexamethasone injections are prescribed to women with medical indications for diseases such as:
- disruption of the endocrine system;
- state of shock;
- cerebral edema;
- severe bronchospasm, asthmatic condition;
- acute allergic reaction, anaphylactic shock;
- systemic connective tissue diseases;
- rheumatic, ophthalmological, oncological, severe infectious diseases;
- acute severe dermatoses;
- blood diseases.
Since Dexamethasone has the ability to easily penetrate the placental barrier, women carrying a child are prescribed it only if the expected treatment result significantly exceeds the possible risk to the baby. Dexamethasone injections have the greatest effect on the fetus in the first trimester. In the case when for the treatment of a disease to the expectant mother you need to take the medication for a long time, there is a risk of the child’s growth being impaired. If the need for a pregnant woman to take Dexamethasone arose in the third trimester of pregnancy, then the doctor, when deciding on the prescription, should take into account that there is a high probability of developing atrophy of the adrenal cortex in the child, and in the future the newborn may need replacement therapy.
Side effects
Dexamethasone affects not only the course of pregnancy, but also the woman’s well-being. Most often, expectant mothers who take this drug in medium to high doses notice some of the following side effects:
- endocrine system: suppression of adrenal function, increased blood pressure, decreased tolerance to sugar;
- digestive system: flatulence, digestive disorders, changes in appetite, perforation and bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, pancreatitis, vomiting, nausea;
- cardiovascular system: thrombosis, hypercoagulation, heart failure, bradycardia, arrhythmia;
- nervous system: convulsions, headache, dizziness, insomnia, nervousness, increased intracranial pressure, depression, hallucinations, disorientation, psychosis;
- metabolism: increased sweating, weight gain, hypocalcemia, hypokalemia, fluid retention, hypernatremia;
- others: osteoporosis, local allergic reaction, delayed wound healing, withdrawal syndrome.
Today the topic of dreams was touched upon, what happened and what actually happened, what was imagined and what actually happened.
Have there been times in your life when reason was in conflict with reality?
There have been three incidents in my life that reason and modern science cannot explain. At least three, the rest can somehow be classified as fluctuations.
Case one.
A tumor on my grandmother’s back was removed—a dumbbell-shaped tumor weighing 1.8 kg. I was discharged from the hospital a week later, and the stitches were removed a couple of days later. I don’t remember the exact date, but the whole story took about a month and a half. At that time, Chumak was “charging” water in basins on TV (many people probably remember). Grandmother carefully recharged herself while reading articles about the Decembrists and Natalya Goncharova.
So, somehow my grandmother is changing her clothes before going to bed, bends over and... I don’t see a scar on her back! They turned on the bright light. I almost looked at my back under a magnifying glass. No scar! Self-hypnosis? Chumak with basins? In any case, science does not answer how this is possible.
Case two
Mom broke her leg. To extend sick leave, you had to show up twice (!) times a week. We didn’t have a car then; my mother had to climb the steps of the trolleybus on crutches. Got a hernia. Several doctors said that we should only operate. Mom found a “grandmother”. We came to grandma. The conditions were: your own apple, your own handkerchief. The pay is meager. I went with my mother - the other end of the city, an incomprehensible “arrow”. Granny bit off an apple, put a handkerchief on mom’s stomach and, biting through it, said: “I’m gnawing, gnawing a hernia...” And so on. Oops, the muscles at the site of the rupture have come together/fused. There were no protrusions after that. The operation was cancelled.
Case three
My same grandmother had erysipelas of her leg, which recurred periodically. Those who have encountered it know that the treatment is long and difficult. I was a witness. Grandma Aksinya (a neighbor a few houses down the street in the village) told me to bring a piece of red velvet with me. My grandmother found one like this. I rubbed it with this velvet, whispered something (this time I didn’t understand a word), and half an hour after the visit, my grandmother’s leg was in order...
How is that possible?!
290Klava
Good day to all.
Today my daughter and I went to music school. Lesson half an hour a week. Children from 3 to 5 years old. They dance, sing, play instruments, learn notes. We liked it, my daughter was delighted (they let me play the drums, they played the piano during the lesson), we decided to sign up.
At the end of the lesson, the teacher asked if we would like to send my daughter to the piano, she said she has the ability, she picks it up quickly.
I’m kind of confused, on the one hand, why not, but I didn’t think about learning to play an instrument so early. On the other hand, won’t there be a lot: dancing, group early development music school, piano, sports at the kindergarten.
Please share when you sent your child to music school.
Elena Popova
Good day to all. I didn’t think that this topic would affect me, but I would like to hear opinions (different) from the outside. In fact, the topic will simply be spoken out, but still.
This is the situation. Probably everyone in Moscow, at least in their kindergarten, has teachers creating a WhatsApp chat, where they write various announcements, send photos and videos from classes, and respond to general issues life in a group of children.
And once again a dialogue took place between me and one of the teachers, we have two of them. The question asked about the number of physical education sessions per week. I received answers and, in general, it was possible to end the dialogue, when a message came from the second teacher with the following text: I’m already tired of this priest (surname with a small letter - well, the person was in a hurry, what can you do about it). I don't know how many other moms read this, but two responded with laughing emojis. Literally a couple of minutes later this message was deleted. Then the administrators, namely the group’s teachers, closed the chat completely for a while. Maybe they didn’t want a showdown, that’s a mystery. In a personal conversation with the teacher, who answered my questions, it was said - sorry, sorry, Maria Ivanovna (name and patronymic are fictitious) had a bad day today, she was urgently called to the seminar, she barely had time, she will definitely talk to you.
Of course, I won’t wash dirty linen in public, because my child, unfortunately, is already going to this group, there is no way to transfer yet, at least until September, and the worst thing is, my daughter at 2.7 does not speak, that is, tell me what as it was in the group, it cannot.
The duplicity of people and, worst of all, teachers are astounding. They learn psychology and endurance. And then, I really don’t understand how I could get it if I always conduct a dialogue on the topic and write extremely rarely.
What would you do if you were me? There is no point in complaining to the manager yet; there is no evidence of correspondence.
Thanks to all!
He denies this point, of course, but I’m a dead sparrow and I’m not so easily deceived.
And then a young man appears on the horizon, 12 years younger than me. Athlete, hockey player of the main team of our regional major league team. Doesn't give me a pass, young, hot and all that. I went to matches with him twice and to the cinema once.
Like. But the age difference (((
The moment is such that you either have to give up or move on.
I respect my man and am in love with him. But this freedom of his... I can't do anything about it. He proposes marriage, but hints that physical infidelity means nothing. And for me, oh, how it means!
And this hockey player too. He writes and calls constantly, comes to work with me for far-fetched reasons.
I'm confused. It seems to me that both of these options are not so suitable for me.
Help. I don't sleep at night.
None medicine does not cause such controversy among obstetricians and gynecologists as the prescribed drug “Dexamethasone” during pregnancy. Discussions continue today, although the use of this medicine in other countries has long been abandoned.
Description
The drug "Dexamethasone" is a synthetic analogue of adrenal hormones, the main purpose of which is to maintain hormonal constancy in the human body. Glucocorticosteroids were discovered in the twentieth century by American scientists. At the same time, their anti-inflammatory effect was revealed. The drug “Dexamethasone” during pregnancy is often prescribed for miscarriage caused by the production of androgens (male hormones), which lead to miscarriages. This drug reduces their number and neutralizes them. If there are serious chronic diseases, in which the use of this medicine becomes vital, it is still recommended to replace Dexamethasone during pregnancy with analogues, since it can penetrate the placenta, causing harm to the unborn child.
Indications for use
The instructions for the medicine contain a lot of information about indications for use. It is produced in tablets and ampoules. The drug “Dexamethasone” is prescribed when planning pregnancy for severe allergic conditions, in the treatment of which traditional drugs do not bring the required effect. The list of diseases is quite large, they include:
Severe neuralgic conditions;
Respiratory diseases;
Oncology (leukemia and lymphomas);
Hematological conditions;
Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
Rheumatic diseases.
Taking medication
During pregnancy, the drug “Dexamethasone” can penetrate the placental barrier, but a adjusted dose, which has been practiced in endocrinology and gynecology for many years, negates the side effects for the fetus. If it is not possible to avoid complications expressed in atrophy of the adrenal cortex, they will be corrected using replacement therapy. You should not refuse treatment for fear negative consequences. The drug is already widely used in medicine long time, and doctors are aware of the possible adverse effects, and refusal of the medicine can lead to tragic consequences. Usually the drug “Dexamethasone” is taken in the form of tablets, but in severe and critical situations intravenous or intramuscular injections are used. This is mainly necessary for complex endocrine disorders, cancer and allergic diseases. In severe rheumatic conditions, intra-articular injections are indicated to relieve pain symptoms. The dose of the drug is prescribed for each patient individually. The daily dosage is divided into three doses, the duration of treatment depends on the patient’s condition. Despite the fact that the drug “Dexamethasone” is quite well tolerated during pregnancy, side effects such as may occur.
