Glucosamine Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Warnings

Brand names: Genicin, Optiflex-G

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Mar 7, 2024.

Glucosamine Pregnancy Warnings

Safety has not been established during pregnancy.

AU TGA pregnancy category: Exempt
US FDA pregnancy category: Not assigned

Risk Summary: Very limited animal data suggest low risk.

Comments:
-There is no data on use in pregnant women to know this drugs risks, including the risk of fetal harm or reproductive effects.
-According to some authorities human data is too limited to determine pregnancy risk.
-Glucosamine is an endogenous substance found widely in human tissues and must be synthesized by the fetus during development.
-The ability of free glucosamine to cross the placenta appears very limited.

Animal studies showed no teratogenicity, however it is suspected of inhibiting protein, RNA, and DNA synthesis (clinical significance unknown). There are no controlled data in human pregnancy. One abstract involving pregnancy exposure to glucosamine with data on 34 pregnancies resulted in 33 live births (2 sets of twins) and 3 spontaneous abortions, with one male infant having a scrotal hernia that was surgically repaired.

AU Exempt: Medications exempted from pregnancy classification are not absolutely safe for use in pregnancy in all circumstances. Some exempted medicines, for example the complementary medicine, St John's Wort, may interact with other medicines and induce unexpected adverse effects in the mother and/or fetus.

US FDA pregnancy category Not Assigned: The US FDA has amended the pregnancy labeling rule for prescription drug products to require labeling that includes a summary of risk, a discussion of the data supporting that summary, and relevant information to help health care providers make prescribing decisions and counsel women about the use of drugs during pregnancy. Pregnancy categories A, B, C, D, and X are being phased out.

See references

Glucosamine Breastfeeding Warnings

Safety has not been established.

Excreted into human milk: Data not available
Excreted into animal milk: Data not available

Comments:
-There is no information regarding this drug on the presence in human milk, the effects on a breastfed infant, or effects on milk production.
-N-acetylglucosamine, a glucosamine derivative, is a normal component of human breast milk.
-According to some authorities this drug is unlikely to adversely affect the infant.

See references

Further information

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