Frequency and type of medications and vaccines used during pregnancy.

Providing safe pharmacotherapy for pregnant women is challenging. Nearly all pregnant women are prescribed or inadvertently receive medication during their pregnancy. We reviewed the scientific literature to identify the specific medications and vaccines that are most often used during pregnancy and described them by category and indication.

Exclusion of pregnant women from industry-sponsored clinical trials.

Objective: The lack of human data available to inform evidence-based treatment for illness during pregnancy has led to calls for greater inclusion of pregnant women in research, but the extent of their current representation is poorly characterized. Our objective was to measure the current exclusion of pregnant women from industry-sponsored clinical trials as a baseline for future comparison.

Methods: We compiled data from studies enrolling women of childbearing potential posted on www.

Pregnancy outcomes from the pregnancy registry of a human papillomavirus type 6/11/16/18 vaccine.

Objective: To better describe the safety profile of pregnancy exposures to the human papillomavirus (HPV) type 6/11/16/18 vaccine by acquiring and analyzing postmarketing data on pregnancy outcomes (ie, live births, abortions, fetal deaths, and congenital anomalies).

Methods: Enrollment criteria included an identifiable patient and health care provider from the United States, France, or Canada and exposure within 1 month before the date of onset of the last menstrual period or at any time during pregnancy. Outcomes of interest were pregnancy outcomes and birth defects.

Varicella vaccine exposure during pregnancy: data from 10 Years of the pregnancy registry.

Background: The Pregnancy Registry for Varivax (Merck) was established to monitor for congenital varicella syndrome or other birth defects in the offspring of women who were exposed to varicella vaccine while pregnant.

Methods: The registry receives voluntary reports from health care providers or consumers about women given the vaccine 3 months before or during pregnancy. Follow-up is conducted to obtain and classify pregnancy outcomes.

Pregnancy outcomes after maternal exposure to simvastatin and lovastatin.

Background: Our objective was to determine the frequency of adverse outcomes after maternal exposure to simvastatin and/or lovastatin during pregnancy in postmarketing experience.

Methods: We reviewed the Merck & Co., Inc.

Monitoring outcomes of pregnancy following drug exposure: a company-based pregnancy registry program.

Women who discover they are pregnant after exposure to a drug and pregnant women who have a condition that requires continued treatment during pregnancy are told to balance the benefits and risks of the exposure to justify continuation of treatment, discontinuation of treatment or, possibly, pregnancy termination. However, there are limited data available to inform decision-making. The Merck Pregnancy Registry Program is a company-run pregnancy registry whose objective is to acquire and analyse information on drug exposures and pregnancy outcomes to better describe the safety profile of Merck products used during pregnancy.

Pharmacoepidemiologic implications of erroneous varicella vaccinations in pregnancy through confusion with Varicella zoster immune globulin.

A series of case reports to the varicella vaccine Pregnancy Registry described inadvertent administrations during pregnancy of this live virus product instead of the intended Varicella zoster immune globulin. Cases continued to accrue despite an early publication about the pattern. The persistent problem warrants specific educational efforts to prevent further repetitions.