Pregnancy warning labels

A federal law requires warning labels on alcoholic beverage containers. They state that women should not drink during pregnancy due to the risk of birth defects, and that alcoholic beverages impair your ability to drive a car or operate machinery and may cause other health problems. Lower costs and the availability of a smokable version leads to a resurgence in heroin use. 

In Britain, the medical community was alerted to the risks by an editorial in the British Medical Journal in 1971, but it was only in 1973 that the Committee on Safety of Medicines advised against the use of diethylstilbestrol during pregnancy (21). In Britain, drugs were commonly not labelled with information about their contents, nor with warnings of risk until well into the 1990s thus, patients were kept in ignorance. No measures have yet been taken in Britain to alert the public to the need for medical surveillance of women who have been exposed to diethylstilbestrol in utero. 

Though side effects and allergic responses are rare, the label warns that aspirin may cause nausea and vomiting and should be avoided late in pregnancy. Because aspirin can interfere with blood clotting, it should not be used by hemophiliacs or following surgery of the mouth. 

All preparations containing iodides should be clearly labelled as to their iodide content and should carry a warning that they are contra-indicated in pregnancy (4). 

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