Aspirin during pregnancy: Is it safe?

Answer Section

Low-dose aspirin is safe to use throughout pregnancy, and it may be recommended in some situations. Higher doses of aspirin typically are not recommended during pregnancy.

Sometimes, healthcare professionals advise pregnant people to take a low dose of aspirin if they have blood clotting conditions or a history of a condition called preeclampsia. Your healthcare professional also might suggest that you take low-dose aspirin if you've had several miscarriages or other pregnancy loss, or if you're pregnant with more than one unborn baby, also called a fetus. If you have kidney disease, diabetes or high blood pressure, you may need to take low-dose aspirin during pregnancy. The typical low-dose aspirin you can buy without a prescription is 81 milligrams. Talk with your healthcare professional about the dose of aspirin that's right for your situation.

Taking higher doses of aspirin may have risks depending on the stage of pregnancy:

• First trimester. During the first trimester, higher doses of aspirin may raise the risk of pregnancy loss. Taking a high dose also could raise the risk of a baby having medical conditions present at birth, called congenital defects.

• Second trimester. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, also known as the FDA, advises pregnant people not to take aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) or naproxen sodium (Aleve) after 19 weeks of pregnancy. Taking these medicines could cause rare but serious kidney conditions in a fetus. That can lead to low levels of amniotic fluid. And that can cause more problems for the fetus.

  If you need to take low-dose aspirin during pregnancy due to a medical condition, don't stop taking it at 19 weeks unless your healthcare professional tells you to do so. Ask about the benefits and risks of aspirin in your situation.

• Third trimester. Along with the other risks, taking higher doses of aspirin during the third trimester of pregnancy raises the risk that a vessel in the fetus's heart will close too soon. If you have to take aspirin during the third trimester, you may need medical appointments often to check fetal health.

Use of high-dose aspirin for long periods of time during any part of pregnancy raises the risk of bleeding in the brain of premature infants.

If you need a pain reliever while you are pregnant, talk with your healthcare professional. Taking something other than aspirin, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), may be a better choice.