Rutin During Pregnancy: Safety Concerns & Potential Risks

Question
I am currently 4wks 5 days pregnant.  I have been taking Rutin 500mgs.  I will no longer take it as it has miscarriage/abortion effects.  My question is...did it already harm my unborn baby?  At what week is crucial....meaning what I ingest does it effect the baby?  I heard 4 wks and 5 wks.  I am just concerned this baby will have birth defects....etc... Thanks...Tammy

Answer
Dear Tammy,

You have discovered your pregnancy much earlier than many women do, which is a great thing! Here's the deal - two things... first, you can't do anything to change what has already occurred and worrying won't help it, AND there is somewhat of an ingrained protective mechanism for just this situation - and because most women don't realize they have conceived a pregnancy until they are well into it.

Obviously this is not any guarantee, but there is a fairly common theory amongst health care providers called the "all-or-nothing phenomenon". Essentially this refers to a window of time in the first 2-3 weeks after conception when there is none of the crucial fetal development going on. During this window, if the new fetus is exposed to anything which will prove to be "defective", the strong likelihood is that it will spontaneously abort. However, in most cases, this window allows for great latitude. My personal suspicion is it was a nature-made, divine protection since most women will not know they are pregnant for at least 2-3 weeks after conception has occurred. Now realize that at 4 weeks 5 days, that is calculated based on your LMP, NOT the conception date, which is usually 2 weeks after the LMP date. So, you have been within the 2-3 week window.

I hope this has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well.

Brenda