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Why is Piracetam prescribed during pregnancy and how does it work? Piracetam during pregnancy: why is this drug prescribed to pregnant women and what side effects can provoke taking the drug. Indications for use

Women preparing to become mothers are often faced with the fact that they are prescribed the nootropic drug piracetam during pregnancy. And this is not always associated with violations of the functions of the central nervous system(CNS) of the patient herself. Despite the fact that the effect of piracetam for some indications is questionable, and in a number of Western countries it was completely abandoned, in Russia it is still actively used in the treatment various diseases in neurology and psychiatry. But also in Russian Academy medical sciences, this drug was recognized as obsolete more than 10 years ago.

Piracetam during pregnancy

Piracetam enhances the formation of neural connections, has a positive effect on the brain, stimulates its blood circulation, metabolic processes and improves performance. In patients using this drug, there is an improvement in memory, speech and perception.

Piracetam is prescribed to pregnant women only in case of high risk worsening condition when the benefit to the mother's health outweighs the possibility negative impact to the fruit. Indications for the use of piracetam are:

  • Memory and attention disorder
  • Speech impairment, including after a stroke
  • Intoxication and hypoxia of the brain
  • Vertigo with impaired coordination
  • Consequences of traumatic brain injury
  • The period of treatment for alcohol or drug addiction.

In addition, piracetam is prescribed for pregnant women with fetoplacental insufficiency (FNP), when placental functions are impaired. The baby in the womb ceases to receive nutrients and oxygen. Develops fetal hypoxia and delay prenatal development. As a result, children are born either prematurely or at term, but with abnormally low weight. In the worst case, the fetus may freeze.

The active substance of the drug enters the child's body through the placenta and reaches a concentration level of up to 90% of the concentration in the mother's body. Thus, it is considered that this remedy protects the fetal brain from damage caused by oxygen starvation due to FNP or premature aging of the placenta. Although clinical trials on pregnant women have not been conducted, data on the concentration of piracetam in the blood were obtained from examination of newborn children.

Mode of application

As a rule, treatment with piracetam takes courses lasting from 2 weeks to several months, depending on the indication. Daily rate calculated according to the formula 30-160 mg of the drug per 1 kg of weight. The total dose is divided into 2-4 doses per day.

Piracetam should not be taken after 5:00 pm to avoid sleep disturbance.

The drug is used both in tablets and with the help of intramuscular and intravenous injections.

Piracetam for pregnant women is prescribed only by a doctor after assessing the risks and benefits and is usually administered in a hospital by drip. However, in outpatient treatment, the drug can also be prescribed in tablets.

The peculiarity of the use of piracetam during pregnancy lies in the strict control by the attending physician, since its studies on pregnant women have not been conducted.

Side effects and contraindications

Like other drugs, piracetam has its contraindications and can cause negative reactions from various organs. The drug must be abandoned in the following conditions:

  • Individual intolerance
  • Kidney dysfunction
  • Circulatory failure and cerebral hemorrhage
  • Severe psychomotor agitation
  • Huntington's disease.

Piracetam is generally well tolerated. But a woman carrying a child is often more sensitive to the drug and experiences its side effects, which can be observed in the form of:

  • Drowsiness or, conversely, insomnia
  • Migraine
  • Nervous excitement with increased motor activity
  • Impaired coordination
  • Irritability
  • Increasing sexual activity
  • Drops in blood pressure
  • Tachycardia
  • Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
  • Allergy accompanied by itching
  • Quincke's edema.

If any of the above conditions occurs, the drug should be discontinued and the attending physician should be informed.

Considering that piracetam during pregnancy is usually administered intravenously or using a dropper in a hospital, a woman is monitored around the clock by specialists who will quickly provide assistance if side effects occur. If the drug was prescribed in tablets for taking at home, if the condition worsens, you should immediately call an ambulance.

In order not to harm the unborn baby, piracetam should also be used with caution when planning pregnancy. Referring to the ovulation calendar, you need to stop treatment with the drug on time. Since in the first trimester there is a formation neural tube embryo and all vital important organs, the fetus is very vulnerable to negative influence medicines.

For the use of piracetam during pregnancy, there must be very strong indications. If, after the appointment of a doctor, you have any doubts, it may be worth consulting with several more specialists. Now there are more modern drugs, the effectiveness of which, unlike piracetam, is not in doubt.

From the group of nootropics, which has a sedative and tranquilizing effect. It is prescribed to improve cognitive abilities after suffering pathologies and for preventive purposes.

Piracetam is contraindicated during pregnancy, however, there are a number of conditions when the doctor considers it necessary to use this particular drug to preserve the patient's health.

Penetration of the drug through placental barrier is up to 90%. This means that the drug circulating in the woman's body will be present in the child's blood plasma, and with a high degree concentration.

Validity of treatment medication during pregnancy, the attending physician determines after a thorough diagnosis, since the instructions for use of Piracetam suggest various options use of the drug during pregnancy: from a complete ban to the possibility of using it in excess of the benefit for the mother over possible harm for a child. Concerning influence on the child, the results of clinical studies are available only for animals.

The drug can be prescribed with the development of a threat to both the health of the mother and the child. For pregnant women, these conditions are:

  • post-traumatic therapy;
  • coma;
  • epilepsy;
  • systemic atherosclerosis;
  • severe hypertension;
  • depression;
  • alcohol, drug, tobacco addiction;
  • acute viral neuroinfections (meningitis, encephalitis).

Piracetam is also used to improve blood composition with sickle cell anemia during pregnancy.

In relation to the fetus, the use of Piracetam is justified in the following diagnoses:

  • hypoxia in acute or chronic form;
  • dysfunction of the placenta ("thin placenta");
  • placental abruption to small area;
  • prevention of hypoxia in the presence of the mother bad habits(alcoholism, smoking).

Most often, Piracetam is used to treat the mother in the 1st trimester of pregnancy, and in the 2nd and 3rd - to eliminate the threat to the unborn child. If a woman has severe functional disorders at the end of the period, treatment may be joint for mother and child.

premature aging of the placenta does not serve as a sufficient basis for prescribing the drug, since improving the microcirculation of the placenta in this way has not been practiced for a long time. There are many safe means for the treatment of such a condition that does not pose a threat to the fetus.

Contraindications

Even those pregnant women to whom the doctor prescribes the drug for treatment should study the list possible contraindications. If for people in the normal state, Piracetam has a not very long list of prohibited conditions, then for pregnant women it is quite extensive, since future mother becomes especially vulnerable due to the restructuring of the body. Piracetam for pregnant women is contraindicated if they have:

  • allergic reactions on any component of the drug: main or auxiliary;
  • decompensated renal failure (stage III, chronic);
  • chorea of ​​Huntington ( genetic disease nervous system);
  • acute hemorrhagic stroke;
  • psychomotor agitation during the use of Piracetam;
  • extensive bleeding.

Particular attention is paid to women with impaired kidney function at any stage, since during pregnancy this organ experiences an additional load.

Side effects

A woman's body changes during pregnancy hormonal level in addition, a growing child often causes severe toxicosis.

All these phenomena give female body a considerable load. Therefore, the use of medication, and quite strong, often causes side effects:

  • headache;
  • stool disorder;
  • irritability;
  • drowsiness or overexcitation;
  • nausea, vomiting;
  • pain in the intestines;
  • tremor (involuntary trembling of the fingers), convulsions;
  • allergic manifestations.

In rare cases, a drop in pressure, feverish conditions are possible. The likelihood of side effects increases when taken with iodine-containing hormones.

If a woman in the course of treatment develops such symptoms (one or more) with increasing force, you should immediately stop taking the medicine and see a doctor. It may be necessary to reconsider the regimen of therapy or choose a different drug.

Instructions for use Piracetam during pregnancy

The drug has three dosage forms: tablets, capsules, injections. For the treatment of pregnant form medicinal product chosen by the doctor, depending on individual indications.

In tablets

The standard scheme for taking pills - according to 400 mg. three times a day. During pregnancy, the initial dose is halved, and during therapy it gradually decreases by another 2 times. The course of treatment is prescribed individually, but usually is at least a month.

In some cases (for example, with alcohol intoxication), the daily dose of the drug can reach 12 g.

Droppers

Piracetam during pregnancy is prescribed intravenously in cases of impossibility of oral administration. The total amount of drug required for treatment is determined taking into account the patient's condition and clinical indicators.

The doctor prescribes droppers using solution of 20% concentration. The drug is diluted in glucose or sodium chloride, the procedures are carried out 2 to 4 times a day. The daily dose should not exceed 12 g of pure substance.

Droppers can be prescribed as part of complex therapy at 39-40 weeks of pregnancy with weakness labor activity for preventive purposes.

injections

If the introduction into the vein is difficult, the doctor may prescribe injections for intramuscular injection. The medicine is injected into the buttock 2-3 times a day. The daily dose can be from 3 to 12 g.

In every specific case the dosage of the drug, as well as the duration of the course, are determined strictly individually.

In the instructions for the drug Piracetam, it is clearly and clearly written that it is not recommended for use during pregnancy and breastfeeding. This contraindication is based on the absence of any studies and tests of the effect of Piracetam on pregnancy and intrauterine development of the child. Actually, doctors cannot guarantee the absolute safety of the nervous system of the unborn child if his mother takes Piracetam. However, it is impossible to speak unambiguously about the dangers of the drug.

There are times when the benefit to the mother takes precedence over the risk to the fetus. If we are talking about saving the life of a pregnant woman, the doctor will definitely make a decision in her favor. Piracetam refers specifically to such drugs that are prescribed to pregnant women in special cases.

Piracetam (another name is Nootropil) is a group of nootropic medicines. It is used in neurology, psychiatry and narcology. It is not completely clear what the principle of the drug's action is. It is believed that it has a positive effect on metabolic processes and blood circulation in the brain. It is able to enhance the activity and intellectual activity of the brain. It is prescribed to treat the consequences of a stroke, brain injuries of various origins and severity, to improve the condition of patients with atherosclerosis and other ailments of the nervous system. There is a practice of prescribing piracetam in order to reduce hypoxic and ischemic phenomena in the brain during acute viral neuroinfections.

If you need to take Piracetam while breastfeeding, you need to know that this drug is able to penetrate into breast milk. Therefore, feeding during treatment with Piracetam will have to be suspended.

Piracetam has the strongest effect during pregnancy and on the work of the kidneys. Therefore, you need to tell your doctor about any problems with your kidneys. The fact is that during pregnancy, the load on the kidneys increases several times, and Piracetam can provoke additional unwanted problems.

There is an opinion that Piracetam during pregnancy still penetrates the placental barrier. This is proved by blood tests of newborns whose mothers were treated with Piracetam during pregnancy. In most children, the drug is found in the blood, and in considerable concentration.

If you are pregnant and have been prescribed Piracetam, it is better to play it safe and consult other doctors. Perhaps there is a safer and more studied drug that can replace Piracetam during the waiting period of a child. It must be clearly understood what serious medicine can never be prescribed for prophylaxis.

Many women in interesting position» worries main question Is it possible to take Piracetam during pregnancy? Doctors recommend this nootropic because it normalizes general blood circulation, inhibits platelet activity, prevents intoxication of the body, ensures the supply and distribution of oxygen through the bloodstream, improves metabolism and the functioning of the meninges.

The drug has several forms of release, including tablets for oral administration and ampoules with a solution for administering the drug intravenously. The last word for a gynecologist who observes the course of intrauterine development of the fetus in a particular case. Piracetam during pregnancy is administered intravenously in exceptional cases. clinical pictures, since the synthetic component easily overcomes the placental barrier and has a mutagenic effect on the embryo.

Piracetam is prescribed for pregnant women for headaches, nervous disorders, atherosclerosis.

Indications for use are such diagnoses and pathological conditions:

  • head injury;
  • infectious lesions of the meninges: encephalitis, meningitis;
  • atherosclerosis in the acute stage;
  • nervous disorders, including psychosis;
  • migraine attacks of uncertain nature;
  • reduced concentration.

Piracetam droppers during pregnancy negatively affect the performance of the kidneys, whose functions are already impaired by the bearing of the fetus. Therefore, the doctor should be informed if diseases predominate paired organ or urinary system. If a pregnant woman does not have serious indications for such an appointment (meningitis, encephalitis, and the like), then you should think about fixing the problem in another way. For example, try to deal with stress and neurosis by changing life situation or relationship with her. How else can this be done without harm to health, read in.

Contraindications

Now it is known why Piracetam is prescribed during pregnancy, but if you study the annotation, you can find contraindications to such an appointment. IN this case it is not recommended to take the drug when kidney failure, hemorrhagic stroke, hypersensitivity pregnant organism to synthetic components.

Important! As for pregnancy and lactation, the reception is possible only as directed by a doctor, based on the pattern when the benefit to the mother outweighs the risk of intrauterine development.

Doctors still have not come to a consensus why Piracetam is prescribed during pregnancy, so disputes on a given topic in obstetric practice have not subsided for more than a year.

Side effects and cases of overdose


 Piracetam has a number side effects, which can worsen the well-being of a pregnant woman.

Side effects with well-chosen therapy, they occur extremely rarely, however, the Piracetam instruction stipulates that the following anomalies are not excluded during pregnancy:

  • abdominal pain;
  • sleep disturbance;
  • excessive anxiety;
  • increased nervousness;
  • migraine attacks;
  • tremor of the limbs;
  • excessive libido;
  • weakness.

If such anomalies occur, then it is advisable to change Piracetam during pregnancy to a more gentle and mildly acting analogue of the pharmacological group of nootropics. Cases of overdose in medical practice are not declared, however, doctors strongly do not recommend constantly overestimating the prescribed daily allowances.