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Metformin in pregnancy – safe or sorry?

Given the increasing incidence of overweight and obesity among young women and the subsequent high prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and gestational diabetes mellitus, metformin treatment during pregnancy is increasing worldwide. A new study reports that metformin exposure in the first trimester of pregnancy does not increase the risk of congenital anomalies.

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Correspondence to Eszter Vanky.

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Vanky, E., Ødegård, R. Metformin in pregnancy – safe or sorry?. Nat Rev Endocrinol 14, 570–572 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-018-0081-6

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