Beta Blockers During Pregnancy

Beta blockers is an umbrella term used to classify a range of similar medications. Beta blockers are used for curing a variety of diseases, mostly cardiovascular. The various ailments treated by beta blockers include migraine headaches, stress, anxiety, high blood pressure, arrhythmia and a rapid heart rate. Although, there are several types of beta blockers, they essentially have the same working mechanism; preventing adrenaline from reaching the heart. Adrenaline is primarily responsible for stressing the heart and forcing it to pump blood faster. This also puts a lot of pressure on blood vessels, giving rise to many problems. Although, beta blockers are generally safe and produce only a few side effects in healthy individuals, their use during pregnancy is still questionable. Hence, we have provided a list of seemingly safe beta blockers for pregnant women.

Is it Safe to Take Beta Blockers During Pregnancy

About 1 to 4% of pregnancies encounter an unforeseen complexity due to cardiovascular problems. The women may seem in perfect health condition prior to pregnancy, but during pregnancy she may suddenly develop a health scare related to her heart. During such a condition, the use of beta blockers or similar other medications becomes inevitable. On the other hand, some women take beta blockers even before they are pregnant. In that case, there is a risk of developing a health scare if they are suddenly pulled off the medication. However, one cannot even afford the continued use of beta blockers in pregnancy as there is a risk to the fetus.

The safety of beta blockers in pregnant women depends upon the particular type of beta blocker that you use. If you are already on beta blockers without any significant side effect, you may be asked to go off the medication gradually. Sudden withdrawal is not recommended. Instead you can gradually reduce the amount of dosage. A pregnant woman should avoid use of beta blockers or at least delay it as far as possible. Beta blockers during the first trimester puts the fetus at risk of developing certain deformities or growth issues. Besides, low fetal heart rate and blood pressure are some additional risks of using beta blockers during the first trimester. Even in the last trimester, a woman is at risk of facing certain labor problems, that might arise due to beta blockers. Hence, many women prefer to discontinue the use of beta blockers during their pregnancy, if they can help it. Beta blockers can also cause problems post pregnancy, especially if you are a breastfeeding mother. They can enter baby's body through breast milk and cause low heart rate, low blood pressure etc. Besides, some beta blockers may inhibit sufficient production of milk, thereby causing nutrition problems for the baby. Thus, if it is a must for you to take beta blockers post pregnancy, you may have to formula feed your baby.

Safe Beta Blockers for Pregnant Women

Beta blockers are classified into categories B, C and D according to their potential to induce problems during pregnancy. Category B drugs are those which have shown no harmful effects on animals during laboratory tests. In the absence of enough tests on humans, these drugs are still considered safe. Category C drugs are those which have shown ill effects in animal studies but haven't been tested on humans. Category D drugs are those which clearly exhibit a risk to the fetus, but are still used because their benefits outweigh their risks by a huge margin. Thus, Acebutolol (Sectral®), Pindolol (Visken®), Sotalol (Betapace®, Sorine®) are the category B beta blockers which are comparatively safer during pregnancy. Category C and D beta blockers can only be used if your OB-GYN believes that the risk is worth taking.

Beta blockers are certainly capable of inducing harm to the baby if taken during pregnancy. Hence, as far as possible try to avoid them by using alternative medications. If you must, follow every word of your doctor regarding the dosage.