Prometrium During Pregnancy

Can I Take Prometrium During Pregnancy?

Prometrium^® (progesterone capsules) is a prescription hormone replacement therapy medication. It is not approved for any use in pregnant women. The prescribing information (and, therefore, most information available for the drug) states that pregnant women should never take Prometrium. However, it is often prescribed for pregnant women, especially women undergoing fertility treatments or with histories of prior pregnancy problems, such as miscarriages.

 

Warnings About Prometrium and Pregnancy

Due to concerns about reports of birth defects possibly due to synthetic progesterone-like medications (known as progestins), the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required all progesterone-like medications to carry a warning that they should not be used during pregnancy. This is known as a contraindication. However, later research seems to suggest that there may not really be any increased risk at all (a certain percentage of all pregnancies will have complications, including birth defects, even if no medications are taken during pregnancy). Also, the possible problems may not be seen with bio-identical progesterone (such as the progesterone found in Prometrium). However, the warning remains in place. This is why most pharmacies label Prometrium prescriptions with a warning to not use the medication during pregnancy.