{"id":343898,"date":"2025-12-14T15:35:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T15:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/is-it-safe-to-use-hydroxyzine-during-pregnancy\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T15:35:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T15:35:08","slug":"is-it-safe-to-use-hydroxyzine-during-pregnancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=343898","title":{"rendered":"Is It Safe to Use Hydroxyzine During Pregnancy?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Hydroxyzine is a sedating antihistamine.\u00a0 While it was originally marketed to treat allergic conditions, it is now used more commonly to promote sleep and to for the treatment of anxiety.\u00a0 It has become an alternative to benzodiazepines because it does not carry the same risks of dependence and abuse.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hydroxyzine is commonly used during pregnancy, but what do we know about its reproductive safety? Because it is an older medication (available since 1957), we do not have as many rigorous studies investigating its safety during pregnancy as for newer medications, including the SSRIs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Data on the use of hydroxyzine during pregnancy includes several older observational studies, two small cohort studies, and a recent case-control study from 2020. If you include the observational studies (Collaborative Perinatal Project<\/a> and the Michigan Medicaid Birth Defects Study described by Einarson et al, 1997<\/a>), there are around 960 hydroxyzine exposures in the literature. However, those early studies were less rigorous and did not include information on other potentially relevant exposures.<\/span><\/p>\n

If we exclude those earlier studies, we have less than 100 exposures, a number that is too small to provide a meaningful estimate of risk.\u00a0 The case-cohort study only included 13 hydroxyzine exposures, again making it difficult to get a precise estimate of risk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Clinical Bottom Line<\/span><\/h3>\n

While the data on hydroxyzine do not suggest a significant risk of major malformations, the small number of exposures makes it difficult to definitively conclude the lack of risk. Larger, more rigorously performed studies are needed to better understand and precisely define\u00a0 the risks associated with the use of hydroxyzine during pregnancy.<\/span><\/p>\n

For those who are using hydroxyzine for sleep problems and anxiety, we would recommend considering others options that have a more robust safety profile.<\/span><\/p>\n