Pregnancy Signs & Symptoms, Week by Week Pregnancy Guide

In case you think about taking Xanax and you are pregnant, you should ask is Xanax safe during pregnancy?

In the majority of the cases, the medication is considered to be dangerous when taken by pregnant women. It belongs to a group known as benzodiazepines. Both the human and animal studies show that the medication could lead to birth defects.

Category D

The FDA has a special kind of category system used for medication. According to this, Xanax is of category D. This means that there is clear evidence showing that the medication has a negative effect on the fetus.

Nonetheless such a medication could be given to pregnant women if the doctor believes that the risks are worth it.

If women are taking Xanax during pregnancy at the early stages, it leads to birth defects.

This is because during this period the fetus is developing at the fastest pace. On the other hand if it is taken at a later stage, after birth, the baby could show signs of withdrawal.

What should you do?

The truth is that women rarely need to take a medication of this kind and this is why the doctors say that it is best to avoid it during pregnancy.

However, if you were taking the medication before you got pregnant, you shouldn’t discontinue without the approval of your doctor.

If you take the medication without knowing that you are pregnant, you should tell your doctor about it as soon as you find out. This way, he or she will be able to give you some indications regarding the further use of the medication, discontinuation or switching to another kind of medication.

All in all we can say that taking Xanax while being pregnant isn’t such a good idea and you should avoid the situation as much as you can or discuss it with your doctor.