Ectopic pregnancy linked to anxiety drugs, study shows

WOMEN who take an anti-anxiety drug in the weeks before conception are almost 50 per cent more likely to have an ectopic pregnancy, an American study has found.

Benzodiazepines, a group of drugs commonly prescribed for sleeping problems, anxiety and alcohol withdrawal, increase the risk of the fertilised egg implanting itself outside the womb by 47 per cent when taken up to 90 days before conception, the researchers concluded.

They analysed nearly 1.7 million pregnancies among women aged between 15 and 44 in the US between 2008 and 2015, and found that of the 1.78 per cent which were ectopic, 1.06 per cent of the women had taken benzodiazepines before conception.

This means that for every 10,000 women exposed to benzodiazepines, 80 pregnancies were ectopic.

Between 1 and 2 per cent of pregnancies each year are ectopic, with pelvic infections and smoking among the known risk factors. They account for about 10 per cent of pregnancy-related deaths due to the bleeding they can cause the mother.

Dr Elizabeth Wall-wieler, who led the study at Stanford University School of Medicine in California, said: “For women with specific health conditions such as anxiety or insomnia, benzodiazepines can be an important part of their treatment; yet a lot is unknown about how safe it is to use these drugs for women who become pregnant.

“This study shows that women who use benzodiazepines when they become pregnant are at higher risk of having an ectopic pregnancy.”

The researchers suggested that women who had used benzodiazepines before conception should undergo a pelvic ultrasound or have their use of the drug reduced in the run-up to pregnancy.

The NHS advises pregnant women who are taking benzodiazepines to speak to their doctor.

The study was published in the journal Human Reproduction.

1,700,000 The number of pregnancies in the US that researchers analysed in the study which uncovered the link to benzodiazepines