Abstract
Background : Different types of infections affected pregnant women commonly, these infections may affect the growth and development of the fetus. As a result antibiotics are used commonly in pregnancy. Many antibacterial agents are safe, but some antibiotics can result in complications either to the mother or to the fetus. This Review aims to know the pregnancy category of the commonly prescribed penicillin antibiotics and the safety of their use during pregnancy
Methodology: The first part of this review includes searching web of science for the keyword "antibiotics" and "pregnancy" during the last 5 years and the second part includes reviewing 5 databases and 3 printed files to know the pregnancy category of the commonly prescribed penicillin antibiotic.
Results and Discussion: Penicillin antibiotics are generally safe to take during pregnancy but should be used as recommended. Additionally, All penicillin antibiotics are either pregnancy category B or no enough data available for their categories, so there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women.
Conclusion : Penicillin antibiotics are safe to use during pregnancy but it is important to take penicillin according to the recommendations. In addition to that the treatment should be individualized because of the difference in the pharmacokinetics characteristics of the patients. The health care professionals should follow the guidelines recommendations, additionally, they should counsel their pregnant patients about their medications.