The FDA and a consortium of HMOs have launched studies to find out whether women must forego helpful medicines during pregnancy.

"These data will guide regulatory policy and influence medical practice," FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD, said.

Reports state that two out of three pregnant women in the U. S. depend on medicines during pregnancy.

FDA said it will initiate a new study called the Medication Exposure in Pregnancy Risk Evaluation Program (MEPREP), in collaboration with researchers.

Under this program a data of seven years will be analysed. The data would come from 11 health plan-affiliated research sites that have healthcare information for about 1 million births.

To solve the problems of women who are pregnant the Department of Health and Human Services maintains a web site in which details about use of medication during pregnancy is explained.

Experts said MEPREP would help pregnant women take decisions regarding the use of medicines during pregnancy which was unknown or did not have clear findings supporting medicine usage.