Background: Limited evidence is available on the safety and efficacy of antimicrobials during pregnancy, with even less according to the trimester of their use.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the association between exposure to antibiotics therapy (AT) during pregnancy and short-term neonatal outcomes.
Methods: We considered 773,237 deliveries that occurred between 2007-2017 in the Lombardy region of Italy. We evaluated the risk of neonatal outcomes among infants that were born to mothers who underwent AT during pregnancy. The odds ratios and the hazard ratios, with the 95% confidence intervals, were estimated respectively for early (first/second trimester) and late (third trimester) exposure. The propensity score was used to account for potential confounders. We also performed subgroup analysis for the class of AT.
Results: We identified 132,024 and 76,921 singletons that were exposed to AT during early and late pregnancy, respectively. Infants born to mothers with early exposure had 17, 11, and 16% increased risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, and low Apgar score, respectively. Infants that were exposed in late pregnancy had 25, 11, and 13% increased risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, and low Apgar score, respectively. The results were consistent in the subgroup analysis.
Conclusion: Our results suggested an increased risk of several neonatal outcomes in women exposed to ATs during pregnancy, albeit we were not able to assess to what extent the observed effects were due to the infection itself. To reduce the risk of neonatal outcomes, women that are prescribed AT during pregnancy should be closely monitored.
Keywords: antibiotic therapy; birth cohort; low Apgar score; low birth weight; pregnancy; preterm birth.