Q: My wife happened to consume Meprate 10 mg tablets (twice a day for 5 days) in the third and fourth week of pregnancy. The doctor prescribed it for getting normal periods, since the pregnancy test proved negative at that time. But later it was discovered that she was already pregnant. Now the fetus is 7 weeks old. I found that these tablets are not safe during pregnancy because and can harm the fetus (abnormality in the genitals). What could be the risks involved and what should be done to minimise this risk? Is it OK to have the baby?

A:Meprate is the brand name of a medicine called medroxyprogesterone. It is used in (a) Endometriosis (b) Cancer (c) Contraception (d) Dysfunctional uterine bleeding. Hence I do not know why it was used for an unapproved indication. Good clinical practice demands that Meprate is given ONLY in the first five days of menstruation (whether regular or irregular). Many a times pregnancy tests are wrong. Meprate can cause toxicity to the fetus and malformation of organs, particularly genital abnormalities. It can also lead to virilisation of female baby (unwanted hair etc.). It is very difficult to quantify the possibility of malformation. according to one study the possibility of genital abnormality in male fetus can be 10 to 16 per 1,000 male births. You have not given details of your wife. Since the risk is not unacceptably high, your wife can, if you both decide, continue with pregnancy but do periodic, frequent ultrasound and other tests to make sure that every thing is all right.