Are My Medications Safe for Pregnancy?

Question

I have been suffering from asthma for 20 years now. I take Albuterol inhaler and I have recently started taking Singulair. I am now under the IVF treatment and my nurses have told me to find out how safe it is to take these medicines while I am pregnant. Since I find it very difficult to get an appointment with the doctor, I thought that someone would be able to help me through the internet.

Answer 1

albuterol or salbutamol has a pregnancy category of C (US FDA). mims defines this category as (in toto):

Either studies in animals have revealed adverse effects on the foetus (teratogenic or embryocidal or other) and there are no controlled studies in women or studies in women and animals are not available. Drugs should be given only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the foetus.

the active ingredient of singulair is montelukast. the pregnancy category of montelukast is B (US FDA). again, according to mims, this category means (in toto):

Either animal-reproduction studies have not demonstrated a foetal risk but there are no controlled studies in pregnant women or animal-reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect (other than a decrease in fertility) that was not confirmed in controlled studies in women in the 1st trimester (and there is no evidence of a risk in later trimesters).