Ethical and regulatory issues related to pregnancy registries and their outcomes

Pregnancy registries should be devised so that the interests of science, society, and the individual are all considered. For example, there may be ethical issues that relate to how women are chosen to participate in the registry and how informed consent is obtained. In most cases, consent is required for both the mother and the infant. Some institutional review boards will require that consent be obtained by someone other than the woman’s physician. Once data are obtained, there may be an issue as to when results should be released. Options are to release data when there is the first indication of a concerning finding, thereby potentially preventing exposure in the largest number of women, versus waiting until the finding is absolutely confirmed. In a related issue, there are questions of when and how regulatory agencies should change labeling based on findings.