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The objective of this paper is to explore the strengths, weaknesses, gaps, and needs in research on medication use in pregnancy, where opportunities have been bypassed to develop standards and collaborations for collecting data to better understand how medications can impact clinical outcomes in pregnant women and developing fetuses. The availability of existing data and the methods of its capture are reviewed, including registries, claims and health record databases, and meta-analyses. The paper focuses on why these efforts have not fundamentally provided benefit-risk information and clinical treatment algorithms for medication use in pregnant women. Methodological issues, such as lack of standardization and central data collection, are discussed. Common barriers are examined, including a lack of awareness and education, cultural hurdles, collaboration deficiency, and an insufficient development of new data collection methods.

The objective of this paper is to communicate a proposed framework for addressing research limitations and communication barriers that contribute to a lack of data for making clinical treatment decisions about medication use in pregnancy. To address this global public health concern, a cross-stakeholder coalition composed of several workstreams is proposed. The intent is to foster collaborative discussion regarding potential solutions to address gaps in communication, engagement, and data generation and collection. Topic areas that require focus include development of awareness initiatives, cultural transformation efforts, collaboration initiatives, research standards, data compilation projects, and new data capture methods. Objectives to aid these efforts are outlined, and collaboration among researchers, regulators, health care providers, and patients is emphasized.

Over the past decade, the scientific community has begun to recognize the importance of biological sex differences in disease pathology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment; however, the practice of sex-specific analysis and reporting is not integrated as standard practice by either our federal health agencies or by major medical journals. Despite the reforms of 20 years ago and the general inclusion of women in drug clinical trials, we have yet to see data routinely analyzed and reported by sex. Major journals are not requiring it, and large, publicly available datasets, such as ClinicalTrials.gov , are not systematically collecting and pointing to it. However, federal health databases and medical journals have the potential to impact progress in sex-specific analysis and reporting. We conducted a search on ClinicalTrials.gov for phase III device clinical trials and assessed their practice of sex differences evaluation. Reporting of clinical trial results by sex will maximize scientific value of research investments, significantly impact clinical decision-making, and transform medical care.

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The term, women's health, was historically synonymous with reproductive health. When the prevailing thought among scientists and physicians was that women were just little men and reproductive organs were the only difference between the sexes, the Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) was formed to change this conventional wisdom. SWHR realizes that austerity measures are necessary during hard economic times; however, we believe that sequestration is not the appropriate tool to reduce our federal deficit. Medical research, while vital to the scientific community, is also fundamental to the U.S. economy. Biomedical research and research on health statistics, surveillance data, and disease tracking are critical to maintaining a healthy society and are the difference between sickness and health for all women and their families.

To raise awareness and promote dialogue leading to action, this article provides proceedings on ethical and legal considerations associated with medicine use during pregnancy discussed during the 2014 DIA Medicines and Pregnancy Forum. A key focus of discussion at the forum was "When is it ethically appropriate to include or unethical not to include pregnant patients in clinical studies, and how can ethical barriers be addressed?" Also debated was the question "What are the most appropriate methods to collect and share data on medication use in pregnancy, and what is the best process for sharing such information?" Goals of the forum were to gain participant alignment on answers to these ethical questions, offer rationale for the answers, and provide insight into which stakeholders might be needed to facilitate discussion and action. Participants felt that under the right circumstances, drug research in pregnant women is justified and necessary. Multiple ideas and opinions on the handling of pregnant patients in clinical research, treating pregnant women in clinical practice, and communicating data to physicians and patients are presented.