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 Regular Strength Pills, Fletchers Castoria, Gentlax, Geri-Kot, 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 Oct 24, 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
- (2005) "Product Information. Fletchers Castoria (senna)." Mentholatum Company, The
- (2022) "Product Information. SenoSol-X (senna)." Apothecon Inc
- Cerner Multum, Inc. "UK Summary of Product Characteristics."
- Cerner Multum, Inc. "Australian Product Information."
- TGA. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Australian Drug Evaluation Committee (2010) Prescribing medicines in pregnancy: an Australian categorisation of risk of drug use in pregnancy. http://www.tga.gov.au/docs/html/medpreg.htm
- (2019) "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
References for breastfeeding information
- (2005) "Product Information. Fletchers Castoria (senna)." Mentholatum Company, The
- (2022) "Product Information. SenoSol-X (senna)." Apothecon Inc
- Cerner Multum, Inc. "UK Summary of Product Characteristics."
- Cerner Multum, Inc. "Australian Product Information."
- United States National Library of Medicine (2013) Toxnet. Toxicology Data Network. http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?LACT
- Department of Adolescent and Child Health and Development. UNICEF. World Health Organization (2014) 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
- (2019) "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
Further information
Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.