A wide variety of aches and pains typically occur when a woman is pregnant. Backaches, headaches and sciatica pain are just a few examples of pregnancy-related conditions that may cause some women to seek relief. However, many women are concerned about taking pain medications, because they do not want to take anything that could potentially harm their unborn baby. Unfortunately, there is no medication that is guaranteed to be completely safe during pregnancy, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians, but some medications are considered safer than others.
Safest
Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is generally the over-the-counter pain reliever of choice during pregnancy, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Although this medication does pass through the placenta, it is classified as a category "B" medication by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration. This means that either studies with animals did not demonstrate a risk but there is no proof this will be the same for human pregnant women, or it means that animal studies did show an adverse effect but this risk was not confirmed in studies with human pregnant women.
Use With Caution
Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), ketoprofen (Orudis) and naproxen (Aleve) are over-the-counter pain medications that should be used with caution during pregnancy. According to the AAFP, although these medications are generally considered as safe as Tylenol for the first and second trimesters, these medications are classified as a category "D" medication during the third trimester. This means that although there may be benefits from use during pregnancy, there is also positive evidence of human fetal risk.
Avoid
Aspirin should generally be avoided during pregnancy unless specifically recommended by a doctor to treat a specific medical condition. This medication is classified as a category "D" medication in all trimesters, according to the AAFP, which means there is always a risk to the fetus when this medication is taken during pregnancy.
