Accidental ingestion of aspirin during late pregnancy - how bad?

December 2, 2006 6:10 AM

My wife, who is 32 weeks pregnant, accidentally took 600mg of aspirin instead of paracetamol. How bad is this?

"Don't take aspirin during pregnancy," says...well, everybody. Especially don't take it during the third trimester, because apparently "Maternal ingestion of drugs which inhibit the formation of prostaglandins (e.g. aspirin and non-steroidal antiinflammatory agents) during the third trimester of pregnancy has been associated with intrauterine closure of the fetal ductus arteriosus, leading to fetal and neonatal pulmonary hypertension and the syndrome of persistent fetal circulation."

Is one 600mg dose at 32 weeks enough to significantly increase the risk of the heart thing? Or is it more of a risk for women closer to the birth, or who take more regular doses? The hospital said "Is the baby still kicking? Well, you're probably OK then," which wasn't very helpful.

posted by obiwanwasabi to Health & Fitness (12 answers total)

obiwanwasabi, I hope your wife isn't too stressed or worried. I am not a doctor, but I would think that taking two aspirin isn't going to hurt the fetus. Prolonged use of aspirin does have the potential to harm the fetus, but just one time--doubtful. Try not to worry, and let your doctor know on Monday. Most likely she will be able to assure you that all is well.
posted by LoriFLA at 6:24 AM on December 2, 2006

IANAD, the author of the article does not seem to be a doctor, and the article is not about aspirin, but the idea is the same: should you worry about a small "mistake"? Most of the studies are done using large (sometimes accidental) doses, not small ones. Look at the numbers in the article you linked, they are daily doses or one time over doses measured in 1000's mg not mg.
posted by MzB at 8:13 AM on December 2, 2006

I think that if there's any danger it would require continuing exposure over a period of weeks.

The biggest period of vulnerability is in the first trimester because that's when primary differentiation is taking place and all the organs and structures are being formed. During the third trimester, mostly what the baby is doing is packing on weight.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 8:20 AM on December 2, 2006

You know what else harms babies? Stress. So there is zero point in worrying about stuff like this.

If baby books are to be believed, the only way to keep a fetus safe is for a expectant mother to ingest nothing during her pregnancy and draw her sustenance directly from the air. And it's not like your wife can untake the aspirin, anyway.
posted by Shadowkeeper at 8:38 AM on December 2, 2006

Pregnant women took an awful lot of aspirin before anyone thought there might be a problem. If the risks had been really high, any dangers would have been recognised a lot sooner.
posted by Idcoytco at 8:47 AM on December 2, 2006

If I remember correctly, aspirin is a "teratogen" (sp.?). Anyway, it can interfere with the development of limbs and such. Once the foetus is fully formed (which is certainly the case at 32 weeks), the potential for harm on that front is probably close to nil (especially considering the single dose).
posted by bluefrog at 8:55 AM on December 2, 2006

(as an aside - and sorry for the derail, but some drugs are specficially worse in the third trimester, rather than the first -- for those ppl who are discounting it because it's towards the end of pregnancy).
posted by gaspode at 9:01 AM on December 2, 2006

I think Shadowkeeper has given excellent advice.
posted by Herr Fahrstuhl at 9:09 AM on December 2, 2006

(And some studies are starting to show that moderate stress is actually good for the developing child, so don't stress about stressing.)
posted by occhiblu at 9:26 AM on December 2, 2006

Well here's the thing. A lot of the things that we are told expectant moms should avoid are based on "why take a chance." We know that mom getting rip-roaring drunk every day can result in fetal alcohol syndrome, so "why take a chance" on one drink one day. We know that mercury is bad but fish is good so "why take a chance" just take a fish oil capsule. We know that uncooked foods can contain bad stuff so "why take a chance" on sushi (kindly never mind the generations of Japanese moms who had no problems) or Caesar salads.

She can't untake the aspirin. That is the bottom line; what is done is done. And truth be told, odds are really really good there's no harm done. Don't do it again.

BTW, the hospital's standpoint is pretty much that they are there to handle life threatening emergencies. Evey ER doc looks at a patient and says to himself "what could kill this patient in the next 24 hours?" As far as the hospital is concerned, if the baby is "alive and kicking" you can wait till your OB/GYN comes to work Monday. So that's why the seemingly stupid advice. If you have further concerns, see if there is a "dial-a-nurse" service in your area. I know most HMOs run such a thing for their clients (because a little triage saves them money, not because they honestly care or anything like that).
posted by ilsa at 10:47 AM on December 2, 2006

Evey = Every. You probably guessed that, right?
posted by ilsa at 10:48 AM on December 2, 2006

For future reference, if that happened, I'd call poison control. I once took a laxative and forgot I'd taken an antacid about half an hour before... in between trips to the bathroom, I called and said, "Am I gonna live through the night?" lol. They were happy to answer that yes, I'd live, even though it wouldn't be a fun evening.
posted by IndigoRain at 1:02 PM on December 2, 2006