Glimepiride Pregnancy and Breast Feeding Warnings

Glimepiride is also known as: Amaryl

Overview

Glimepiride may cause harm to the fetus or newborn. If you become pregnant, contact your doctor. You will need to discuss the benefits and risks of using Glimepiride while you are pregnant. It is not known if Glimepiride is found in breast milk. Do not breast-feed while taking Glimepiride .

Glimepiride Pregnancy Warnings

Glimepiride has been assigned to pregnancy category C by the FDA. Animal studies have revealed evidence of fetotoxicity, most likely a result of maternal hypoglycemia. There are no controlled data in human pregnancy. The manufacturer states that glimepiride should not be used during pregnancy. Glimepiride is generally considered contraindicated during pregnancy and is only recommend for use during pregnancy when there are no alternatives and benefit outweighs risk.

There is some evidence that there is a higher incidence of congenital abnormalities in pregnancies with abnormal blood sugar. Many experts recommend that insulin be used during pregnancy to maintain glucose levels as close to normal as possible. Other, longer-acting sulfonylureas have produced prolonged, severe hypoglycemia in children of mothers on these agents.

Glimepiride Lactation Warnings

There are on data on the excretion of glimepiride into human milk. Other sulfonylureas are excreted 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.

In some animal studies, offspring exposed to high levels during pregnancy and lactation developed skeletal deformities consisting of shortening, thickening, and bending of the humerus during the postnatal period. Significant concentrations of glimepiride were noted in the breast milk and the serum of the offspring.

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