Conclusion & future perspective
Two options for the inclusion of pregnant women in
research have been proposed: stand-alone Phase I trials
to begin at the same time as Phase III trials in the
general population and PhaseI trials embedded into late
Phase II or Phase III trials in the general population.
Each of these options would be scientifically valid and
meet the ethical imperative to include pregnant women
in research. In the near future, however, we expect that
stand-alone trials may well be preferred by researchers,
research sponsors, research ethics committees and regulators,
since these trials would be easier to monitor more
closely and would not begin until Phase II trials in the
general population were complete. As experience and
expertise evolved, however, and the routine inclusion
of pregnant women in clinical trials was more widely
accepted, embedded trials could become the norm.