For a woman who is in early pregnancy and needs a strong analgesic after surgery, we recommend using an opiate. We are now enrolling women who call us about having taken an opioid analgesic before they know the outcome of pregnancy in a prospective study.
Dr. Koren is a professor of pediatrics, pharmacology, pharmacy, medicine, and medical genetics at the University of Toronto. He heads the Research Leadership in Better Pharmacotherapy During Pregnancy and Lactation at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, where he is director of the Motherisk Program. He also holds the Ivey Chair in Molecular Toxicology in the department of medicine, University of Western Ontario, London. Dr. Koren said he had no relevant financial disclosures.
This column, "Drugs, Pregnancy, and Lactation," appears regularly in Ob.Gyn. News, a publication of Elsevier. To respond to this column, e-mail Dr. Koren at obnews@elsevier.com.