robitussin

[Zoey7206]

thought some of you might want to see this....

"Dear Cathy and Jim,

My Wife and her friend pulled your article, "A Primer on Natural Family Planning ," down from the internet. It is a well-written document that gives a compelling case for Natural Family Planning.

However, on page 7 you recommend guaifenesin, an ingredient in Robitussin cough syrup, as a potential remedy for women who are having fertility problems because of overly short cervical fluid patches. A recent study has shown that another ingredient in Robitussin, Dextromethorphan, causessevere birth defects in chicken embryos. These include neural tube defects such as spinobifita and craniofacial anomalies including cleft lip and palate defects. This was a study published in the January 1998 issue of Pediatric Research by a researcher named Rosenquist. It was a follow up study based on earlier research correlating Robitussin use by pregnant women and severe birth defects in their children.

My wife works for the Cleft Palate foundation and the American Cleft Palate association. Her name is Amy Mackin. You can reach her from 8:30 to 4:30 every day by calling (800)24CLEFT. She tells me she got this information from the Association of Birth Defects in Children. Their number is (800)313-2232. Amy operates a hotline for parents who have children with craniofacial anomalies. She has already had one caller who said she followed advice from the internet telling her to use Robitussin to increase her fertility. The woman gave birth to a child with a cleft. The woman then found the article correlating Robitussin use with clefts.

There is no way of showing that Robitussin caused the cleft palate on that woman's child or any other woman's child. The relevant fact is that she now blames herself for causing her child's cleft. I don't intend to be mean or harsh to you. I found your article to be good, as I stated above. I only ask you to alter the document so that you recommend against using Robitussin to increase fertility, or possibly just don't mention Robitussin or other potentially harmful drugs for which you do not know the side effects in your report. Also, please use your influence on the web to get the word out that a study has linked Robitussin to Birth defects. This information is vitally important because families are following your advice in their attempts at becoming pregnant.


Sincerely,

William A. Mackin
Graduate Student
UNC-CH Department of Biology mackin@email.unc.edu"

 

[Zoey7206]

thought some of you might want to see this....

"Dear Cathy and Jim,

My Wife and her friend pulled your article, "A Primer on Natural Family Planning ," down from the internet. It is a well-written document that gives a compelling case for Natural Family Planning.

However, on page 7 you recommend guaifenesin, an ingredient in Robitussin cough syrup, as a potential remedy for women who are having fertility problems because of overly short cervical fluid patches. A recent study has shown that another ingredient in Robitussin, Dextromethorphan, causessevere birth defects in chicken embryos. These include neural tube defects such as spinobifita and craniofacial anomalies including cleft lip and palate defects. This was a study published in the January 1998 issue of Pediatric Research by a researcher named Rosenquist. It was a follow up study based on earlier research correlating Robitussin use by pregnant women and severe birth defects in their children.

My wife works for the Cleft Palate foundation and the American Cleft Palate association. Her name is Amy Mackin. You can reach her from 8:30 to 4:30 every day by calling (800)24CLEFT. She tells me she got this information from the Association of Birth Defects in Children. Their number is (800)313-2232. Amy operates a hotline for parents who have children with craniofacial anomalies. She has already had one caller who said she followed advice from the internet telling her to use Robitussin to increase her fertility. The woman gave birth to a child with a cleft. The woman then found the article correlating Robitussin use with clefts.

There is no way of showing that Robitussin caused the cleft palate on that woman's child or any other woman's child. The relevant fact is that she now blames herself for causing her child's cleft. I don't intend to be mean or harsh to you. I found your article to be good, as I stated above. I only ask you to alter the document so that you recommend against using Robitussin to increase fertility, or possibly just don't mention Robitussin or other potentially harmful drugs for which you do not know the side effects in your report. Also, please use your influence on the web to get the word out that a study has linked Robitussin to Birth defects. This information is vitally important because families are following your advice in their attempts at becoming pregnant.


Sincerely,

William A. Mackin
Graduate Student
UNC-CH Department of Biology mackin@email.unc.edu"

 

[Zoey7206]

thought some of you might want to see this....

"Dear Cathy and Jim,

My Wife and her friend pulled your article, "A Primer on Natural Family Planning ," down from the internet. It is a well-written document that gives a compelling case for Natural Family Planning.

However, on page 7 you recommend guaifenesin, an ingredient in Robitussin cough syrup, as a potential remedy for women who are having fertility problems because of overly short cervical fluid patches. A recent study has shown that another ingredient in Robitussin, Dextromethorphan, causessevere birth defects in chicken embryos. These include neural tube defects such as spinobifita and craniofacial anomalies including cleft lip and palate defects. This was a study published in the January 1998 issue of Pediatric Research by a researcher named Rosenquist. It was a follow up study based on earlier research correlating Robitussin use by pregnant women and severe birth defects in their children.

My wife works for the Cleft Palate foundation and the American Cleft Palate association. Her name is Amy Mackin. You can reach her from 8:30 to 4:30 every day by calling (800)24CLEFT. She tells me she got this information from the Association of Birth Defects in Children. Their number is (800)313-2232. Amy operates a hotline for parents who have children with craniofacial anomalies. She has already had one caller who said she followed advice from the internet telling her to use Robitussin to increase her fertility. The woman gave birth to a child with a cleft. The woman then found the article correlating Robitussin use with clefts.

There is no way of showing that Robitussin caused the cleft palate on that woman's child or any other woman's child. The relevant fact is that she now blames herself for causing her child's cleft. I don't intend to be mean or harsh to you. I found your article to be good, as I stated above. I only ask you to alter the document so that you recommend against using Robitussin to increase fertility, or possibly just don't mention Robitussin or other potentially harmful drugs for which you do not know the side effects in your report. Also, please use your influence on the web to get the word out that a study has linked Robitussin to Birth defects. This information is vitally important because families are following your advice in their attempts at becoming pregnant.


Sincerely,

William A. Mackin
Graduate Student
UNC-CH Department of Biology mackin@email.unc.edu"

 

[Scarlett81]

Very interesting. Hopefully if this is a legitimate threat they will do further studies and release them to the public.
I am not too worried though b/c they have been reccomending guaf for a long time and not just for cfers-it is one of the methods if you are trying to conceive a boy, you take it to help the male sperm to stay longer in the cerv mucus. My MIL used it with all her boy pregnancies, and both of my sisters pregnancies as well. All their kids were fine. I think anything can be a threat basically. You have to weigh pros and cons. There have been studies suggesting-IVF and the use of Clomid is relatively new, and what effects could they have down the road for ivf/clomid babies? I personally would rather take guaf for a few days than take a potent fertility drug or treatment. I'm just saying, there is always a "risk" with anything. I look at how I take albuterol with my treatments-its a class C drug and it goes into the babys bloodstream-they say its safe, but how do I know my baby won't have heart issues when its older?
You do what you gotta do. Until they release facts and not merely studies, I keep doing what I can. There's studies for everything under the sun. I just say this so that all of us ladies that are using guaf don't worry for the rest of our pregnancies in fear that our babies will be messed up-there's no need for that.
But, I am interested in all info, and thanks for posting. We'll see what future research brings.

 

[Scarlett81]

Very interesting. Hopefully if this is a legitimate threat they will do further studies and release them to the public.
I am not too worried though b/c they have been reccomending guaf for a long time and not just for cfers-it is one of the methods if you are trying to conceive a boy, you take it to help the male sperm to stay longer in the cerv mucus. My MIL used it with all her boy pregnancies, and both of my sisters pregnancies as well. All their kids were fine. I think anything can be a threat basically. You have to weigh pros and cons. There have been studies suggesting-IVF and the use of Clomid is relatively new, and what effects could they have down the road for ivf/clomid babies? I personally would rather take guaf for a few days than take a potent fertility drug or treatment. I'm just saying, there is always a "risk" with anything. I look at how I take albuterol with my treatments-its a class C drug and it goes into the babys bloodstream-they say its safe, but how do I know my baby won't have heart issues when its older?
You do what you gotta do. Until they release facts and not merely studies, I keep doing what I can. There's studies for everything under the sun. I just say this so that all of us ladies that are using guaf don't worry for the rest of our pregnancies in fear that our babies will be messed up-there's no need for that.
But, I am interested in all info, and thanks for posting. We'll see what future research brings.

 

[Scarlett81]

Very interesting. Hopefully if this is a legitimate threat they will do further studies and release them to the public.
I am not too worried though b/c they have been reccomending guaf for a long time and not just for cfers-it is one of the methods if you are trying to conceive a boy, you take it to help the male sperm to stay longer in the cerv mucus. My MIL used it with all her boy pregnancies, and both of my sisters pregnancies as well. All their kids were fine. I think anything can be a threat basically. You have to weigh pros and cons. There have been studies suggesting-IVF and the use of Clomid is relatively new, and what effects could they have down the road for ivf/clomid babies? I personally would rather take guaf for a few days than take a potent fertility drug or treatment. I'm just saying, there is always a "risk" with anything. I look at how I take albuterol with my treatments-its a class C drug and it goes into the babys bloodstream-they say its safe, but how do I know my baby won't have heart issues when its older?
You do what you gotta do. Until they release facts and not merely studies, I keep doing what I can. There's studies for everything under the sun. I just say this so that all of us ladies that are using guaf don't worry for the rest of our pregnancies in fear that our babies will be messed up-there's no need for that.
But, I am interested in all info, and thanks for posting. We'll see what future research brings.

 

[Wendy]

I think there should be some clarity.

The important thing to know is, which Robitussin are they talking about?

The letter refers to Dextromethorphan, an in ingredient in Robitussin, as the ingredient that causes severe birth defects. This ingredient is not included in all forms of Robitussin, as the maker has several formulas of the cought syrup. The article actually recommends the ingredient guaifenesin "as a potential remedy for women who are having fertility problems". The plain formula of Robitussin, without any other letters in the name (like Robitussin CF or Robitussin DM), only contains guaifenesin as the active ingredient. It is an expectorant. Dextromethorphan is a cough suppressant that is found in the Robitussin CF(Cough Formula) and other multi-symptom formulas under the brand name.

All Robitussins should not be lumped together as one drug. Each formula has a different combination of ingredients.

It has been stated on this forum by several women that the Robitussin they have used is the plain version with no other ingredients but the guaf. I know this is what I used. So I share the same sentiment as Christian in the hopes that those of us who used the guaf do not worry themselves about the safety of their babies. This is an exciting time, so ladies, please enjoy it!

 

[Wendy]

I think there should be some clarity.

The important thing to know is, which Robitussin are they talking about?

The letter refers to Dextromethorphan, an in ingredient in Robitussin, as the ingredient that causes severe birth defects. This ingredient is not included in all forms of Robitussin, as the maker has several formulas of the cought syrup. The article actually recommends the ingredient guaifenesin "as a potential remedy for women who are having fertility problems". The plain formula of Robitussin, without any other letters in the name (like Robitussin CF or Robitussin DM), only contains guaifenesin as the active ingredient. It is an expectorant. Dextromethorphan is a cough suppressant that is found in the Robitussin CF(Cough Formula) and other multi-symptom formulas under the brand name.

All Robitussins should not be lumped together as one drug. Each formula has a different combination of ingredients.

It has been stated on this forum by several women that the Robitussin they have used is the plain version with no other ingredients but the guaf. I know this is what I used. So I share the same sentiment as Christian in the hopes that those of us who used the guaf do not worry themselves about the safety of their babies. This is an exciting time, so ladies, please enjoy it!

 

[Wendy]

I think there should be some clarity.

The important thing to know is, which Robitussin are they talking about?

The letter refers to Dextromethorphan, an in ingredient in Robitussin, as the ingredient that causes severe birth defects. This ingredient is not included in all forms of Robitussin, as the maker has several formulas of the cought syrup. The article actually recommends the ingredient guaifenesin "as a potential remedy for women who are having fertility problems". The plain formula of Robitussin, without any other letters in the name (like Robitussin CF or Robitussin DM), only contains guaifenesin as the active ingredient. It is an expectorant. Dextromethorphan is a cough suppressant that is found in the Robitussin CF(Cough Formula) and other multi-symptom formulas under the brand name.

All Robitussins should not be lumped together as one drug. Each formula has a different combination of ingredients.

It has been stated on this forum by several women that the Robitussin they have used is the plain version with no other ingredients but the guaf. I know this is what I used. So I share the same sentiment as Christian in the hopes that those of us who used the guaf do not worry themselves about the safety of their babies. This is an exciting time, so ladies, please enjoy it!

 

[wanderlost]

as stated above, guafinisen alone isn't linked to any birth defects, I am pretty sure. You don't want to take a cough suppressant (DM), you're looking at an expectorant ofr mucus thinning. I think I took humibid (when I could still get it as an rx - which is guafinisin) through my whole pregnancy with my son. But especially if you are using it only for TTC, and stop when you get pregnant you're even safer.

 

[wanderlost]

as stated above, guafinisen alone isn't linked to any birth defects, I am pretty sure. You don't want to take a cough suppressant (DM), you're looking at an expectorant ofr mucus thinning. I think I took humibid (when I could still get it as an rx - which is guafinisin) through my whole pregnancy with my son. But especially if you are using it only for TTC, and stop when you get pregnant you're even safer.

 

[wanderlost]

as stated above, guafinisen alone isn't linked to any birth defects, I am pretty sure. You don't want to take a cough suppressant (DM), you're looking at an expectorant ofr mucus thinning. I think I took humibid (when I could still get it as an rx - which is guafinisin) through my whole pregnancy with my son. But especially if you are using it only for TTC, and stop when you get pregnant you're even safer.