Based on the results of animal studies, women are typically not advised to take Glucotrol during pregnancy. In these studies, high doses of the medication proved mildly toxic to fetal rats. Pregnant women who were taking Glucotrol at delivery have had babies born with severely low blood sugar. If you are taking the drug and pregnancy occurs, your healthcare provider will weigh the risks and benefits of taking Glucotrol during pregnancy.
Is It Safe to Take Glucotrol During Pregnancy?
For women who are pregnant,
Glucotrol® (
glipizide) or Glucotrol XL
® (glipizide extended release) may not be safe. This is based on animal studies that looked at the effects of Glucotrol during pregnancy.
Glucotrol and Pregnancy Category C
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 C is given to medicines that have not been studied in pregnant humans, but that appear to cause harm to the fetus in animal studies. Also, medicines that have not been studied in any pregnant women or animals are automatically given a pregnancy Category C rating.
In humans, severely low blood sugar has occurred in babies born to women who were taking Glucotrol at the time of delivery. Glucotrol has also been shown to cause problems in pregnant animals. When given to pregnant rats at very high doses, Glucotrol was mildly toxic to the fetal rats.
However, it is important to note that animals do not always respond to medicines in the same way that humans do. Therefore, a pregnancy Category C medicine may be given to a pregnant woman if the healthcare provider believes that the benefits to the mother outweigh any possible risks to the unborn child.
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