Senna Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Warnings
Brand names: Agoral, Correctol Herbal Tea Laxative, Dosaflex, Dr Caldwell Laxative, Ex-Lax, Ex-Lax Chocolated, Ex-Lax Gentle Nature, Ex-Lax Maximum Relief Formula, Ex-Lax Regular Strength Pills, Fletchers Castoria, Gentlax, Innerclean, Little Tummys Laxative Drops, Pedia-Lax Quick Dissolve Strips, Senexon, Senna Concentrate, Senna Lax, Senna-gen, Senokot, Senokot Child, Senokot To Go, Senolax, Swiss Kriss, Uni-Cenna, X-Prep
Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Aug 2, 2023.
Senna Pregnancy Warnings
Use is not recommended unless clearly needed.
AU TGA pregnancy category: Not formally assigned to a pregnancy category.
US FDA pregnancy category: Not formally assigned to a pregnancy category.
Comment: There are no data on fertility.
Animal studies have failed to reveal evidence of fetal harm or undesirable/damaging effects occurring during pregnancy. There are experimental data of genotoxic risks with anthranoids (e.g., aloe-emodin, emodin). There are no controlled data in human pregnancy.
Senna Breastfeeding Warnings
This drug should be used only if clearly needed.
Excreted into human milk: Yes (active metabolite [rhein] and parent compound)
Comments:
-The American Academy of Pediatrics considers this drug as compatible with breastfeeding.
-Some manufacturers recommend consulting with a healthcare professional prior to use.
-Some experts state that usual doses are acceptable for use.
-The WHO classify this drug as compatible with breastfeeding; however, this drug should be used only if dietary measured for treating constipation fail.
See also
References for pregnancy information
- Product Information. Fletchers Castoria (senna). Mentholatum Company, The. 2005.
- Product Information. SenoSol-X (senna). Apothecon Inc. 2022.
- Cerner Multum, Inc. UK Summary of Product Characteristics.
- Cerner Multum, Inc. Australian Product Information.
- TGA. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Australian Drug Evaluation Committee. Prescribing medicines in pregnancy: an Australian categorisation of risk of drug use in pregnancy. http://www.tga.gov.au/docs/html/medpreg.htm 2010.
- Product Information. Ex-Lax Chocolated (senna). Novartis Consumer Health. 2019.
- Product Information. Ex-Lax Extra Strength (senna). Novartis Consumer Health. 2019.
- Product Information. Ex-Lax Regular Strength Pills (senna). Novartis Consumer Health. 2019.
- Product Information. Senna (senna). Humco Holding Group. 2019.
- Product Information. Senna Lax (senna). Mylan Institutional (formerly UDL Laboratories). 2019.
- Product Information. Senokot (senna). Palmetto State Pharmaceuticals Inc. 2019.
References for breastfeeding information
- Product Information. Fletchers Castoria (senna). Mentholatum Company, The. 2005.
- Product Information. SenoSol-X (senna). Apothecon Inc. 2022.
- Cerner Multum, Inc. UK Summary of Product Characteristics.
- Cerner Multum, Inc. Australian Product Information.
- United States National Library of Medicine. Toxnet. Toxicology Data Network. http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?LACT 2013.
- Department of Adolescent and Child Health and Development. UNICEF. World Health Organization. Breastfeeding and maternal medication: recommendations for drugs in the eleventh Who model list of essential drugs. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2002/55732.pdf?ua=1 2014.
- Product Information. Ex-Lax Chocolated (senna). Novartis Consumer Health. 2019.
- Product Information. Ex-Lax Extra Strength (senna). Novartis Consumer Health. 2019.
- Product Information. Ex-Lax Regular Strength Pills (senna). Novartis Consumer Health. 2019.
- Product Information. Senna (senna). Humco Holding Group. 2019.
- Product Information. Senna Lax (senna). Mylan Institutional (formerly UDL Laboratories). 2019.
- Product Information. Senokot (senna). Palmetto State Pharmaceuticals Inc. 2019.
Further information
Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.