Maternal Anti-nauseants and Clefts of Lip and Palate

Abstract

1 Data on drug prescriptions were obtained from the general practitioners of 196 women who had had infants with clefts of lip or palate and those of 407 control women, matched for age, parity, social class and year of delivery. 2 There was no excess of index women who had presented with nausea or vomiting. 3 There was a significant excess (12 cases, nine controls, P<0.02) of women who had been prescribed Debendox (the 3-constituent, or pre-1976, formulation of Bendectin) in early pregnancy. 4 This result was not thought to be conclusive evidence of a teratogenic effect but caution in prescribing is advised pending more extensive studies.