Can I take labetalol while pregnant or breastfeeding?

Pregnancy Teratogenic Effects Pregnancy Category C Teratogenic studies were performed with labetalol in rats and rabbits at oral doses up to approximately six and four times the maximum recommended human dose (MRHD), respectively. No reproducible evidence of fetal malformations was observed. Increased fetal resorptions were seen in both species at doses approximating the MRHD. A teratology study performed with labetalol in rabbits at intravenous doses up to 1.7 times the MRHD revealed no evidence of drug-related harm to the fetus. There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Labetalol should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus. Nonteratogenic Effects Hypotension, bradycardia, hypoglycemia and respiratory depression have been reported in infants of mothers who were treated with labetalol hydrochloride for hypertension during pregnancy. Oral administration of labetalol to rats during late gestation through weaning at doses of two to four times the MRHD caused a decrease in neonatal survival.

Prescribing label, section “Pregnancy”: Labetalol Hydrochloride (oral), Cardinal Health 107, LLC. Label on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.

Because of the low levels of labetalol in breastmilk, amounts ingested by the infant are small and would not be expected to cause any adverse effects in fullterm breastfed infants. No special precautions are required in most infants. However, other agents may be preferred while nursing a preterm infant. Labetalol may predispose nursing mothers to Raynaud’s phenomenon of the nipple.

“Summary of Use during Lactation”, LactMed record “Labetalol” (LM291), quoted verbatim. Everything LactMed reports about Labetalol while breastfeeding.

Nursing Mothers Small amounts of labetalol (approximately 0.004% of the maternal dose) are excreted in human milk. Caution should be exercised when labetalol hydrochloride tablets are administered to a nursing woman.

Prescribing label, section “Nursing Mothers”: Labetalol Hydrochloride (oral), Cardinal Health 107, LLC. Label on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.