xanax in pregnancy

Precautions

• Drowsiness and unsteadiness upon standing, increasing the risk of falls.
• May impair reaction skills and affect a person's ability to drive or operate machinery. ...
• Blood pressure-lowering, heart palpitations, constipation, nausea, dry mouth, headache, and a decrease in libido are also commonly reported side effects.

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How does Xanax affect pregnancy?

Xanax is not safe to take during pregnancy A pregnant lady must not take this drug; it can cause birth defects or death. A nursing lady must also avoid taking such drugs. Xanax can help relieve anxiety. But if you’re pregnant or planning to become...

Is it safe to take alprazolam or Xanax during pregnancy?

Xanax is not recommended during pregnancy because it can have an adverse effect on your fetus. It is a pregnancy category D drug, which means that Xanax is known to have adverse reactions in humans. Xanax reaches the fetus through the bloodstream and makes the baby addicted to this drug.

Can I take Xanax during pregnancy?

Since babies are sometimes born going through withdrawal from Xanax, the assumption is it does cross the placenta. Can Xanax affect a pregnancy test? There is no indication that alprazolam will impact the results of a pregnancy test. Disclaimer: this article does not constitute or replace medical advice.

Does Xanax affect pregnancy test results?

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Does the body produce more progesterone during pregnancy?

While pregnant, the body produces more progesteron e in those nine months alone than it does outside of pregnancy during a woman’s entire reproductive life cycle. This hormone is known to predispose moms-to-be to turbulent mood swings.

Can anxiety cause pregnancy?

Even those who have never had issues with anxiety at all can develop them while pregnant. Anxiety isn’ t just a consequence of worry or going through a hard time.

Can pregnant women take Xanax?

Even when anxiety and depression are present, there are certain individuals who should not use Xanax. Pregnant women fall into that category. Xanax — a brand name for alprazolam — is a prescription benzodiazepine that works by calming central nervous system impulses. As neurotransmitters fire off in the brain, they cause emotional ...

Is Xanax safe for pregnant women?

When Is Xanax Not Safe? Mental health disorders that warrant the need for a medication like Xanax occur in around 500,000 pregnant women every single year, according to Harvard Health Publications. Women are more likely to receive a prescription for a benzodiazepine than men are, per EMedicineHealth.

Is Xanax safe for babies?

These babies often exhibit symptoms, such as irritability and trouble sleeping, when the drug use ceases. Xanax is excreted in breastmilk, so it is also unsafe for use in non-pregnant nursing mothers as it can be passed on to infants.

Is Xanax a controlled substance?

Xanax is classified as a Schedule IV controlled substance and Category D risk in pregnancy. This means studies have been completed on the drug, and it has been proven to carry certain risks. Risks to a developing fetus are numerous.

Does Xanax cause mood disturbances?

As neurotransmitters fire off in the brain, they cause emotional and behavioral reactions. When levels of certain neurotransmitters known as GABA are too low, they can cause mood disturbances. Increasing those levels often works to mitigate emotional and behavioral side effects. Xanax is a powerful drug that can be highly effective in treating ...

Benefits Of Taking Xanax While Pregnant

When you’re pregnant, hormonal changes and the stress of planning for a new baby can cause serious anxiety.

Risks Of Taking Xanax While Pregnant

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies Xanax as a Category D pregnancy drug.

Alternatives To Xanax During Pregnancy

If you’re concerned about the above risks but still want to treat your anxiety while pregnant, talk to your doctor about creating a treatment plan that doesn’t include Xanax.

Alprazolam Pregnancy Warnings

This drug is only recommended for use during pregnancy when there are no alternatives and the benefit outweighs the risk, especially during the first trimester of pregnancy. AU TGA pregnancy category: C US FDA pregnancy category: Not assigned. Risk Summary: Use may be associated with an increased risk of congenital malformations.

Alprazolam Breastfeeding Warnings

Use is not recommended. -Some experts recommend: A decision should be made to discontinue breastfeeding or discontinue the drug, taking into account the importance of the drug to the mother. Excreted into human milk: Yes Comments: -The American Academy of Pediatrics considers this agent a drug for which the effect on nursing infants is unknown but may be of concern. -Chronic administration of diazepam to nursing mothers has been reported to cause their infants to become lethargic and to lose weight..

Further information

Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.

What are the risks of using Xanax with opioids?

Risks from Concomitant Use with Opioids. Concomitant use of benzodiazepines, including Xanax, and opioids may result in profound sedation, respiratory depression, coma, and death. Because of these risks, reserve concomitant prescribing of these drugs in patients for whom alternative treatment options are inadequate.

What to do if you are already taking Xanax?

If an opioid is initiated in a patient already taking Xanax, prescribe a lower initial dose of the opioid and titrate based upon clinical response. Advise both patients and caregivers about the risks of respiratory depression and sedation when Xanax is used with opioids.

How much Xanax should I take for GAD?

The recommended starting oral dosage of Xanax for the acute treatment of patients with GAD is 0.25 mg to 0.5 mg administered three times daily. Depending upon the response, the dosage may be adjusted at intervals of every 3 to 4 days. The maximum recommended dosage is 4 mg daily (in divided doses).

What is the first step in alprazolam metabolism?

The initial step in alprazolam metabolism is hydroxylation catalyzed by cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A). Drugs that inhibit this metabolic pathway may have a profound effect on the clearance of alprazolam.

How much alprazolam should I give to my rat?

Alprazolam produced no impairment of fertility in rats at doses up to 5 mg/kg per day, which is approximately 5 times the maximum recommended human dose of 10 mg per day based on mg/m 2 body surface area.

What is the misuse of benzodiazepines?

Abuse and misuse of benzodiazepines commonly involve concomitant use of other medications, alcohol, and/or illicit substances , which is associated with an increased frequency of serious adverse outcomes.

How long does Xanax withdrawal last?

In some cases, benzodiazepine users have developed a protracted withdrawal syndrome with withdrawal symptoms lasting weeks to more than 12 months [see Drug Abuse and Dependence (9.3)]. Certain adverse clinical events, some life-threatening, are a direct consequence of physical dependence to Xanax.

How long do benzodiazepines last after birth?

These symptoms have been reported to persist for periods from hours to months after birth. This correlates well with the pharmacokinetic and placental transfer of the benzodiazepines and their disposition in the neonate.

Does clonazepam excrete into breast milk?

There is evidence that clonazepam, clorazepate, diazepam, lorazepam, midazolam, nitrazepam, and oxazepam are excreted into breast milk. The published data indicate that the levels detected in breast milk are low; therefore, the suckling infant is unlikely to ingest significant amounts of the drug in this way. ...

Can benzodiazepines cause facial clefts?

There is evidence from studies in the 1970s that first trimester exposure to benzodiazepines in utero has resulted in the birth of some infants with facial clefts, cardiac malformations, and other multiple malformations, but no syndrome of defects.

Is diazepam a malformation?

Diazepam and chlordiazepoxide are amongst the drugs most frequently implicated in the earlier studies. However, data from later studies provide no clear evidence of significant increase in either the overall incidence of malformations or of any particular type of defect.

Can benzodiazepines affect the brain during pregnancy?

The prolonged use of benzodiazepines throughout pregnancy raised the concern that there may be altered transmitter synthesis and function, leading to neurobehavioural problems in the children.

Can you stop taking alprazolam?

Changes to your alprazolam treatment should be done under the direction of your healthcare provider. If you take this medication on a regular basis and then suddenly stop taking it, you could have withdrawal symptoms. Some of the withdrawal symptoms reported with alprazolam have included seizures and rebound anxiety.

Can alprazolam cause sleepiness?

There have been reports of sleepiness (hard to wake, low energy) in nursing infants. There is also a report of withdrawal-like irritability in a nursing infant whose mother used alprazolam during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. If any of these symptoms are seen, discuss them with your child’s healthcare provider.

Is alprazolam a benzodiazepines?

Alprazolam is sold under different brand names, such as Xanax®, Niravam®, or Gabazolamine-0.5®. Alprazolam is in a class of medications call benzodiazepines. MotherToBaby has a fact sheet on anxiety at https://mothertobaby.org/fact-sheets/anxiety/pdf/ and a fact sheet on depression at https://mothertobaby.org/fact-sheets/depression-pregnancy/pdf/. ...

When Is Xanax Not Safe?

Complications in Pregnancy

Alternatives

Effective Treatment