The pregnant orthopaedic patient and medication concerns

It is not every day that nurses practicing in an orthopaedic setting must care for a pregnant patient. However, when they do, there are medication concerns about two patients--the pregnant patient and the fetus. The pregnant patient will need relief from pain and discomfort at the same time that the fetus will need to be protected from medications that pose potential fetal risk. In this article, the risk to the fetus from selected medications is identified, and the effect that normal physiologic changes of pregnancy may have on absorption, distribution, and elimination of medications is discussed.