Short-term follow-up data of maternal nitrofurantoin
use in a population-based cohort showed no
increased risk of major malformations (a OR 0.79,
95% CI 0.55–1.13), and only a small increased risk of
neonatal jaundice when dispensed in the last 30 days
before delivery (a OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.02–1.70) [40&&].
However, in a long-term Danish follow-up study,
447 629 singleton pregnancies were followed to
9.9 years to investigate the relationship between
maternal antibiotics use (mainly for UTI) and epilepsy.
Theinvestigators founda slightly increased risk
of epilepsy in children whose mothers received antibiotic
prescriptions (i.e. nitrofurantoin) during pregnancy;
this was most pronounced among mothers
with multiple prescriptions (hazard ratio 1.3, 95% CI
1.0–1.8). More research is needed to investigate confounding
and the direct drug effect