Is Taking Claritin-D While Pregnant Safe?
Claritin-D and Pregnancy Category B
The U.
S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses a category system to classify the possible risks to a fetus when a specific medicine is taken during pregnancy. Pregnancy Category B is given to medicines that have not been extensively studied in pregnant humans but that do not appear to cause harm to the fetus in animal studies. The rating is also given to medications that seem to cause problems in pregnant animals but have been shown to be safe in human studies.
Claritin-D was given a pregnancy Category B classification because it did not cause any problems (even at very high doses) when given to pregnant rabbits and rats. A few studies have suggested that Claritin-D does not increase the risk of birth defects or miscarriages in humans, although more thorough studies are necessary.
It is important to note that while human studies did not suggest problems with Claritin-D, these studies could not completely rule out the possibility of problems. Therefore, a pregnancy Category B medicine should be given to a pregnant woman only if her healthcare provider believes that the benefits to the woman outweigh any possible risks to the unborn child.
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