Calcitonin Pregnancy and Breast Feeding Warnings

Calcitonin is also known as: Calcimar, Fortical, Miacalcin, Miacalcin Nasal

Overview

If you become pregnant, contact your doctor. You will need to discuss the benefits and risks of using Calcitonin-Salmon Spray while you are pregnant. It is not known if Calcitonin-Salmon Spray is found in breast milk. Do not breast-feed while using Calcitonin-Salmon Spray.

Calcitonin Pregnancy Warnings

Calcitonin has been assigned to pregnancy category C by the FDA. Animal studies using synthetic salmon calcitonin have shown a decrease in fetal birth weights when rabbits were given doses 14 to 56 times the recommended human dose. There are no controlled data in human pregnancy. Calcitonin is only recommended for use during pregnancy when benefit outweighs risk.

Animal studies suggest that calcitonin does not cross the placental barrier. Maternal calcitonin levels increase during pregnancy. These levels are not correlated with serum calcium or phosphate except when inversely proportional to the serum phosphate during the first trimester. The significance of this rise to the fetus is unknown.

Calcitonin Lactation Warnings

There are no data on the excretion of calcitonin into human milk. The manufacturer recommends that due to the potential for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants, a decision should be made to discontinue nursing or discontinue the drug, taking into account the importance of the drug to the mother.

Calcitonin is found as a normal constituent of human milk, both in normal and thyroidectomized women. Levels are about 40 times that found in serum. Calcitonin is a peptide and is likely digested in the gastrointestinal tract of the infant. However, studies of drug activity after ingestion have not been done in nursing infants. Exogenous calcitonin has been shown to inhibit lactation in animal studies.

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