Insomnia or lack of sleep is always common during pregnancy. And according to APA (American Pregnancy Association), almost 78% of women have trouble finding sleep during the process. Lack of sleep during pregnancy may cause stress to you especially if you will be having sudden insomnia before labor may affect your baby’s health, though some say wide awake during the process it is always nice to have a good night’s rest over the course of the pregnancy.
And here comes the drug, Ambien. It is a Class C sedative drug to help you fall asleep. However, some studies say that taking Ambien during pregnancy is harmful and must be avoided. Doctors believe that taking Ambien during pregnancy may cause problems and bad effects on your pregnancy. Although, there are safer/alternative options which include lifestyle change pre-pregnancy or safe drug treatments.
Ambien overview
Ambien is a type of drug which are called ‘sedatives. They are primarily used as medications to treat insomnia. It causes you to fall asleep faster. The FDA considers that drug Ambien a Class-C product. This only means that there were clinical trials conducted to animals that were made during the process that taking it during pregnancy may have harmful effects on the unborn. But, considering it is classified as Class C, this means that there’s insufficient evidence that taking Ambien for a human may have adverse effects on the fetus.
There’s a study too indicating that taking Ambien during pregnancy have no ill-effects to the baby. Although there’s not a lot of data to support this claim, And, there are animals that have taken high doses of Ambien had babies with defects. There are also prior reports that there were cases of babies having breathing problems who were born to Mothers who took Ambien during pregnancy and most symptoms include weak muscles. So, the best option is to stay away from Ambien as much as possible, regardless of the outcome of those studies. The best way is just to avoid the product because there are still insufficient data on its effects.
Side effects of ambien
Doctors can only consider letting you take Ambien if you are truly diagnosed with Insomnia. Taking Ambien has shown significant side effects to normal people during the period.
One of the side effects of taking Ambien are drowsiness and dizziness, and these effects have shown to significantly increase the risk of falling off the floor. The third side effect is diarrhea, having diarrhea can aid in dehydration. Getting dehydrated during pregnancy may have bad effects on you.
Tips on whether to take ambien during pregnancy
Using Ambien for a few days in a week may cause withdrawal symptoms to your child. And it increases the effect if you are close to giving birth. That’s the reason why it is just best to avoid it at all costs during pregnancy. Use Ambien as a last resort, or minimize the use of it as little as possible.
There are a lot of alternatives that could help you have a good sleep, and are much safer to do than taking aid-sleeping drugs. Doctors usually recommend doing things that will help you get you fast asleep like, listening to your favorite relaxing music, taking warm baths to soothe you, trying new sleep positions or just plainly avoiding sleep during the day to have that sleepy feeling as the night goes.
Phone your doctor
In most cases, insomnia can attack your body in many different ways. And doctors will always find alternatives for you to take rather than taking the Ambien orally. If you want to take certain medications during pregnancy, always ask the opinion of your trusted doctor to avoid any confusion and alarms.
Final thoughts
Is Ambien Safe to take during Pregnancy? There still lacks quality evidence and supportive data to claim that it has positive or negative effects on unborn babies. So, it is a wise move for a Parent to avoid as much as possible taking certain drugs during pregnancy. It is recommended to take alternative routes to have a good night’s rest, such as changing your sleeping habits. Always ask the opinion of your trusted doctor when taking other medications too as it may also have effects on the Mother and child.
Read also:
- Does Anesthesia Affect my Pregnancy?
- What to Know: Herbals for Birth Control
- Can Pregnant Women Take Zofran for Morning Sickness?
