Pharmacy Mix-Up: Pregnant Woman Given Abortion Drug

Taking any kind of medication while pregnant is scary. I remember being nervous about the anti-convulsants I had to take - drugs that I knew could cause birth defects, but that neither I nor my babies could do without at the time. I remember worrying about the anti-emetics too, and the scare I got over the pharmacist's reaction to the megadoses of folic acid I was prescribed to counterbalance the anti-convulsants.

It was a scary time!

Luckily, my doctors have pretty much always prescribed the right medications in the right doses. And the few times there has been a problem, the pharmacist has caught it & suggested a solution.

Not so for a young pregnant woman in Colorado, who accidentally received and took medication intended for another woman. The pharmacy gave her a drug that could potentially cause a miscarriage, the result of a lapse in following protocols designed to keep us all safe.

Could this happen to you? Of course it could, but there are steps you can take to increase your safety when taking prescription drugs. These steps don't replace the care your doctor and pharmacist should take when giving you medication, but they can help you to catch errors they might otherwise miss, before something tragic happens. Be safe by taking an active role in your own health care.

This content is copyrighted. Please feel free to share by sending others a link to this page, or contact the author about purchasing reprint rights. Thanks to Emily Cahal for the beautiful photo.

Autism and Down Syndrome in the News

Two special needs populations have been in the news over the last few weeks, each for a different reason. The never ending question of the link between autism and vaccines has still not been resolved despite the inability of scientists to duplicate results of the initial study published in the Lancet. More than six months after Andrew Wakefield's name was struck from the register of accredited physicians in the UK, there are still large numbers of people who stand behind his claim that MMR vaccines cause autism.

Extensive investigations undertaken by journalist Brian Deer reveal the whole truth behind the autism vaccine controversy, and the British Medical Journal is now publishing a series of articles written by Deer. This is much recommended reading, no matter what your stance on the role of vaccines in autism. This brief timeline of the autism vaccine controversy will help put things into perspective.

A blood test to screen for Down syndrome in the first trimester of pregnancy has been announced with much fanfare. Study authors claim the screening test could eliminate up to 98% of amniocentesis. The test has not yet been approved for clinical use, and is significantly more expensive than existing screening methods. It is also limited to detecting Down syndrome at the moment, though it seems logical the same technology could potentially be used to screen for other conditions in the future.

The test could mean earlier and safer screening for all pregnant women, not just those at higher risk. Universal screening, however, is not without its drawbacks. Some people fear doctors will take less care when it comes to informing women about their options, because a non-invasive screening is seen as routine compared to a procedure that could potentially cause miscarriage. Advocates for special needs populations also worry that earlier, safer testing could result in more women being pressured to abort fetuses found to have conditions such as Down syndrome.

There is no cure for either Down syndrome or autism, but people affected with these conditions can live long, happy, productive lives if given adequate support and education.

Teaching Staff Get Preventative Leave to Avoid Harmful Viruses

Our son's integration aide from last year is not with him again this year, which is a disappointment because we all worked so well together. But yesterday I discovered it's because she's out on preventative leave due to pregnancy. That may signal bad news to some people, but because Quebec has a special program that allows women to take leave to avoid environmental hazards including exposure to potentially harmful viruses, many teachers and support staff here take this leave. It keeps those growing babies extra safe! Here's more about it:

Fifth disease is also known as the "slapped cheek" disease because of the rash that develops on the faces on infected people. It is a highly contagious illness, caused by human parvovirus B19 and most often seen in younger children. While fifth disease is a very mild illness for most children and adults, if a pregnant woman gets the infection it can cause complications for her unborn baby. The infection can create severe anemia in the fetus, causing miscarriage or stillbirth.


Because the disease is common in children, pregnant women working in childcare facilities, preschools or primary schools are at elevated risk for exposure to the virus. There is no vaccine for fifth disease, and really no method of prevention other than avoidance of infected people and a good hand washing regime. A unique program in Quebec offers protection for the unborn babies of women who do not have immunities built up against fifth disease infection.


Preventive reassignment or leave


Quebec offers the only government-run North American program that allows women paid leave during pregnancy or breastfeeding for preventative reasons. The program receives almost 130 requests each week from around the province. Of those requests, 9 percent come from teachers at the preschool and primary levels.

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Photo: Brent Allison (@sxc.hu)