A new study has revealed that the use of benzodiazepine, a widely used drug to treat anxiety and insomnia, during pregnancy is linked with a higher risk of miscarriage.
The researchers from the National Taiwan University and colleagues quantified the risk for miscarriage associated with benzodiazepine use during pregnancy in a nationwide, population-based case-time-control study in Taiwan.
The study included 3,067,122 (over 30 lakh) pregnancies among 1,957,601 (over 19 lakh) women. It was found that 4.4 per cent of these pregnancies resulted in miscarriage.
Miscarriage was defined as any pregnancy loss occurring between the first prenatal care visit, usually 8 weeks of conceiving, and the 19th completed week of pregnancy.
The researchers found that the risk for miscarriage was increased in association with use of benzodiazepines during pregnancy.
“This nationwide case-time-control study revealed an increased risk of miscarriage associated with benzodiazepine use during pregnancy after accounting for measurable confounders,” the authors of the study noted.
Benzodiazepines, colloquially called “benzos”, are a class of depressant drugs that are prescribed to treat conditions such as anxiety disorders, insomnia, and seizures.
“These findings underscore the necessity for health care professionals to meticulously balance the risk-benefit ratio when considering the use of benzodiazepines to treat psychiatric and sleep disorders during pregnancy,” they added.