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Pregnancy and anti malaria medications
I will be leaving for Haiti in 3 weeks. I just found out I am expecting! How will anti malaria medications effect my pregnancy? Are they safe? I am currently perceived malamar (sp?)
Thank you for the information. After some prodding the doc switched me to chloroquine.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I believe the medication you may be referring to is Malarone (atovaquone and proguanil). This medication is not recommended to be taken during pregnancy as there is limited data regarding its safety in pregnant women. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can serve as an excellent resource for determining which medications you will need while traveling to protect yourself against infectious agents such as malaria.
I'll post an excerpt below, but I would also recommend for you to review the recommendations from the CDC. You may need to contact someone with the Health Department in Haiti to determine if malaria there is susceptible or resistant to certain medications. Once you determine which drugs will treat the malaria there, you should discuss with your Doctor which one will be best for you to take with your pregnancy. Some will be safer than others for you to take while you're pregnant. Please see below:
Malaria infection in pregnant women can be more severe than in nonpregnant women. Malaria can increase the risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes, including prematurity, spontaneous abortion, and stillbirth. For these reasons, and because no chemoprophylactic regimen is completely effective, women who are pregnant or likely to become pregnant should be advised to avoid travel to areas with malaria transmission if possible (see Chapter 8, Pregnant Travelers). If travel to a malarious area cannot be deferred, use of an effective chemoprophylaxis regimen is essential.
Pregnant women traveling to areas where chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum has not been reported may take chloroquine prophylaxis. Chloroquine has not been found to have any harmful effects on the fetus when used in the recommended doses for malaria prophylaxis; therefore, pregnancy is not a contraindication for malaria prophylaxis with chloroquine phosphate or hydroxychloroquine sulfate. For travel to areas where chloroquine resistance is present, mefloquine is the only medication recommended for malaria chemoprophylaxis during pregnancy. A review of mefloquine use in pregnancy, from clinical trials and reports of inadvertent use of mefloquine during pregnancy, suggests that its use at prophylactic doses is not associated with adverse fetal or pregnancy outcomes. Because of insufficient data regarding its use during pregnancy, atovaquone-proguanil is not recommended to prevent malaria in pregnant women. (Updated October 26, 2011)
From CDC Website: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2012/chapter-3-infectious-diseases-related-to-travel/malaria.htm#1939
I'll post an excerpt below, but I would also recommend for you to review the recommendations from the CDC. You may need to contact someone with the Health Department in Haiti to determine if malaria there is susceptible or resistant to certain medications. Once you determine which drugs will treat the malaria there, you should discuss with your Doctor which one will be best for you to take with your pregnancy. Some will be safer than others for you to take while you're pregnant. Please see below:
Malaria infection in pregnant women can be more severe than in nonpregnant women. Malaria can increase the risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes, including prematurity, spontaneous abortion, and stillbirth. For these reasons, and because no chemoprophylactic regimen is completely effective, women who are pregnant or likely to become pregnant should be advised to avoid travel to areas with malaria transmission if possible (see Chapter 8, Pregnant Travelers). If travel to a malarious area cannot be deferred, use of an effective chemoprophylaxis regimen is essential.
Pregnant women traveling to areas where chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum has not been reported may take chloroquine prophylaxis. Chloroquine has not been found to have any harmful effects on the fetus when used in the recommended doses for malaria prophylaxis; therefore, pregnancy is not a contraindication for malaria prophylaxis with chloroquine phosphate or hydroxychloroquine sulfate. For travel to areas where chloroquine resistance is present, mefloquine is the only medication recommended for malaria chemoprophylaxis during pregnancy. A review of mefloquine use in pregnancy, from clinical trials and reports of inadvertent use of mefloquine during pregnancy, suggests that its use at prophylactic doses is not associated with adverse fetal or pregnancy outcomes. Because of insufficient data regarding its use during pregnancy, atovaquone-proguanil is not recommended to prevent malaria in pregnant women. (Updated October 26, 2011)
From CDC Website: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2012/chapter-3-infectious-diseases-related-to-travel/malaria.htm#1939
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