Can you take gabapentin while pregnant

It helps the unborn baby grow normally. Pregnant women who take gabapentin are recommended to take a higher dose of folic acid. Your doctor might prescribe a high dose of 5mg a day for you to take during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. If you take gabapentin around the time of giving birth, your baby may need extra monitoring for a few days after they're born because they may have gabapentin withdrawal symptoms.

Some antibiotics, such as doxycycline and tetracycline. It is sometimes used to treat arthritis. Warfarin such as Coumadin.

It helps prevent blood clots. It is used to treat bipolar depression. Alprazolam such as Xanax , diazepam such as Valium , and some other medicines used to treat anxiety. Paroxetine such as Paxil. This medicine is used to treat depression and other conditions. Is it okay to take herbal supplements and vitamins? Related Information Pregnancy. Teratology and medications that affect the fetus. In Williams Obstetrics, 23rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Food and Drug Administration Food and Drug Administration. Accessed March 24, Yankowitz J Drugs in pregnancy. In RS Gibbs et al. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. Credits Current as of: October 8, Top of the page Next Section: Related Information. Therefore, our findings should generalize to other populations. Our results add to the current understanding of the safety of gabapentin prenatal use and provide pregnant women with pain conditions and epilepsy and their providers with important information, which can guide clinical decisions during pregnancy.

Our findings also suggest that pregnant women using gabapentin during pregnancy may be considered for targeted interventions to monitor for and promptly respond to the potential adverse outcomes associated with the use of this agent. Results from this large cohort study suggest that gabapentin exposure during early pregnancy does not appear to be associated with teratogenic effects, although a moderately higher risk of cardiac malformations—in particular, conotruncal defects—cannot be excluded.

Maternal use of gabapentin, particularly late in pregnancy, was associated with a higher risk of preterm birth, SGA, and NICU admission; an association that was only partially explained by confounders. Clinicians should weigh these potential risks with the clinical benefits of using gabapentin to treat painful and disabling conditions. Abstract Background Despite the widespread use, only sparse information is available on the safety of gabapentin during pregnancy.

Conclusions In this large population-based study, we did not find evidence for an association between gabapentin exposure during early pregnancy and major malformations overall, although there was some evidence of a higher risk of cardiac malformations. Author summary Why was this study done? In addition to being currently US Food and Drug Administration FDA -approved for the treatment of partial seizures and postherpetic neuralgia, gabapentin is extensively used off-label for many conditions, including neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, anxiety, and tremor.

Despite the increasing number of patients receiving gabapentin prescriptions, little information is available on the safety of this medication during pregnancy.

We therefore evaluated the association between the use of gabapentin exposure during pregnancy and the risk of a range of neonatal and maternal outcomes. What did the researchers do and find? We conducted a large population-based cohort study and used several strategies to minimize potential confounding and misclassification of the exposure and the outcome. We did not find evidence of an association between gabapentin exposure during the first trimester T1 of pregnancy and major malformations overall, although there was some evidence of a higher risk of cardiac malformations.

There was a higher risk of preterm birth, small for gestational age SGA , and neonatal intensive care unit admission NICUa among women exposed to gabapentin, particularly in late pregnancy. What do these findings mean? Pregnant women and their physicians should weigh the benefits of treatment with gabapentin with the risks of potential adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with its use. Download: PPT.

Exposure definition We created four different exposure groups to match the potentially etiologically relevant exposure windows for the outcomes of interest.

Outcomes For T1 exposure to gabapentin, the primary outcome was the presence of a major congenital malformation in the infant, defined on the basis of inpatient or outpatient ICD-9 diagnostic and procedural codes in the maternal first month after delivery [ 15 ] or infant first three months after birth records. Primary analysis For each exposure group, we defined the prevalence of covariates by exposure group and used standardized differences to evaluate covariate balance between the exposed pregnancies and the reference group [ 20 ].

Sensitivity analyses We conducted several sensitivity analyses to assess the robustness of our findings. Results Study cohort and patient characteristics Overall, 1,, pregnancies met the inclusion criteria.

Table 1. Selected baseline characteristics of gabapentin-exposed and unexposed women before PS adjustment, with standardized differences before and after PS adjustment. Absolute and relative risks of neonatal and maternal outcomes The prevalence of overall major congenital and cardiac malformations was 5. Table 2. Absolute and relative risk of neonatal and maternal outcomes associated with exposure to gabapentin compared with unexposed pregnancies.

Sensitivity, secondary, and post hoc analyses Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were largely consistent with the main findings before and after PS adjustment Tables 3 and S5. Table 3. Sensitivity and secondary analyses for the RRs of neonatal and maternal outcomes associated with exposure to gabapentin compared with unexposed pregnancies after PS adjustment. Discussion In a large population-based study, we evaluated neonatal and maternal outcomes in over 4, women exposed to gabapentin early in pregnancy and approximately 2, women exposed in late pregnancy.

Conclusions Results from this large cohort study suggest that gabapentin exposure during early pregnancy does not appear to be associated with teratogenic effects, although a moderately higher risk of cardiac malformations—in particular, conotruncal defects—cannot be excluded. Supporting information. S1 Table. Definitions for congenital malformations. S2 Table. S3 Table. Baseline characteristics of gabapentin-exposed and unexposed women, before PS adjustment.

PS, propensity score. S4 Table. Baseline characteristics of gabapentin-exposed and unexposed women, after PS adjustment. S5 Table. Sensitivity and secondary analyses for the RR of neonatal and maternal outcomes associated with exposure to gabapentin compared with unexposed pregnancies before and after PS adjustment.

PS, propensity score; RR, relative risk. S6 Table. Post hoc analyses for the RR of specific types of cardiac malformations associated with exposure to gabapentin during T1 compared with unexposed pregnancies.

RR, relative risk; T1, first trimester. S7 Table. Sensitivity and secondary analyses for the RR of individual noncardiac major malformation groups associated with exposure to gabapentin compared with unexposed pregnancies.

RR, relative risk. S8 Table. RR of cardiac malformations comparing gabapentin-exposed to unexposed women, stratified by dose tertiles of the first and the highest prescription filled during each exposure period of interest.

Perhaps even a lower dose if she has been stable or stopping if that is her choice. It depends on the orientation I suppose, but if you stop the drug, the patients cognitive processes may prevent reinitation or guilt if they do reinitiate.

I am 23 wks pregnant and ive been taking gabapentin since before i found out i was pregnant. My Doctor has me on mg a day they are mg 3 times a day. I am extremely worried about taking this medicine but my doctor recommended me to stay on aslo i am on celexa i take about 20mg a day.

Does anyone have any info on this or any past experiences with gabpentin pregnant? Liz, can I ask how your baby is? Thank you, and I hope you and your baby are doing well. Previous Next.

View Larger Image. We discussed several other options for managing her sleep and residual anxiety: 1. Chris Eaton December 14, at pm. Miriam Schechter MD December 14, at pm. MBinMA December 21, at pm. Chevies Newman December 24, at pm. Regards and Merry Christmas.