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Article: Acyclovir and birth defects.
- Article from:
- Pediatrics for Parents
- Article date:
- November 1, 1993
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 Pediatrics for Parents, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Any drug has the potential for causing serious harm to a developing fetus. Conducting studies to determine if a drug is harmful to a fetus is difficult. Even is someone wanted to do this type of study, it would be impossible to find anyone to volunteer. This type of information is learned in two ways: animal experiments and retrospective studies.
In animal studies, the drug is given to pregnant animals, often in doses far exceeding the human dose. If birth defect occur, then it's assumed the drug will cause defects in human infants. Retrospective studies involve gathering information from women who took a certain drug while ...