Medications & Your Fertility

Accutane. An acne treatment containing synthetic vitamin A, Accutane is linked to birth defects, including mental retardation. Because injury can happen in the first few weeks of pregnancy -- often before you know you're pregnant -- you may want to stop using Accutane or ask your doctor for a safer alternative before trying to conceive.

Antibiotics By altering cervical mucus patterns, antibiotics sometimes throw off ovulation while you're taking them. Studies have yet to definitively show, however, whether it's the antibiotics that temporarily squelch fertility or the illness being treated.

Antidepressants. Not only can depression drugs scramble your menstrual cycles, temporarily suppressing fertility, but research also indicates that they may boost your baby's risk of birth defects if you use them during pregnancy. For example, monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors such as phenelzine (Nardil) and tranylcypromine (Parnate) have been shown to cause an increased risk of brith defects when taken during the first 3 months of pregnancy. Since you don't always know you're pregnant right away, consider weaning yourself off antidepressants or finding a safer alternative well before you conceive.

Antianxiety drugs. It is unclear how drugs such as diazepam (Valium) and alprazolam (Xanax) affect fertility, but like some antidepressants, their use has been found to cause an increased risk of birth defects during the first trimester. For this reason, it's wise to avoid taking them, if possible, when you're trying to get pregnant.

Cold and flu remedies with antihistamines. Designed to dry up overactive mucous membranes in your nose and throat, these popular remedies also occasionally thicken or dry up cervical mucus. For sperm, that's tantamount to swimming across a bone-dry desert or through a sea of Jell-O.

Corticosteroids. Creams and ointments containing corticosteroids are used to relieve the redness, swelling, and itching of skin conditions, like psoriasis. These products can cause irregular menstrual periods, depending on the potency of the drug and the amount used.

High blood pressure medications. Potassium-sparing diuretics that contain spironolactone (such as Aldactone) can also throw off menstrual cycles.

Ibuprofen. Pain relievers, such as Advil or Aleve, sometimes sabotage ovulation, particularly if you're taking them regularly. "If you're on fertility medication or have been trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant, just stick with acetominophen (Tylenol)," Notes Mitchell N. Essig, MD, an obstetrics and gynecology instructor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in the Bronx, who also has a private Manhattan practice in reproductive endocrinology and infertility.