Is carisoprodol safe during pregnancy?
Answered by MotherToBaby’s teratology specialists, quoted in full — including the questions most pages skip, like whether a father’s exposure matters.
The questions people actually ask about carisoprodol in pregnancy
Answered by MotherToBaby, the fact sheets written by the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists and published through the NIH. Quoted in full — we do not condense them.
I take carisoprodol. Can it make it harder for me to get pregnant?
It is not known if carisoprodol can make it harder to get pregnant.
Does taking carisoprodol increase the chance for miscarriage?
Miscarriage is common and can occur in any pregnancy for many different reasons. Studies have not been done to see if carisoprodol increases the chance of miscarriage.
Does taking carisoprodol increase the chance of birth defects?
Every pregnancy starts out with a 3-5% chance of having a birth defect. This is called the background risk. It is not known if carisoprodol use in pregnancy could increase the chance of birth defects. Experimental animal studies did not find a higher chance of birth defects. Studies on people that are pregnant have not been done to see if carisoprodol could increase the chance of birth defects. There have been some case reports of babies with birth defects after the use of carisoprodol in human pregnancy, but there have also been case reports that have not noted birth defects. Case reports are not the same as studies and cannot provide enough information to learn how carisoprodol would affect a human pregnancy.
Does taking carisoprodol in pregnancy increase the chance of other pregnancy-related problems?
Studies have not been done to see if carisoprodol increases the chance for pregnancy-related problems such as preterm delivery (birth before week 37) or low birth weight (weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces [2500 grams] at birth). There have been some case reports of normal human pregnancy outcomes after exposure to carisoprodol. Case reports are not the same as studies.
Does taking carisoprodol in pregnancy affect future behavior or learning for the child?
Studies have not been done to see if carisoprodol can cause behavior or learning issues for the child.
If a male takes carisoprodol, could it affect fertility or increase the chance of birth defects?
Studies have not been done in humans to see if carisoprodol could affect male fertility (ability to get partner pregnant) or increase the chance of birth defects above the background risk. An experimental animal study did not find carisoprodol to affect male fertility. In general, exposures that fathers or sperm donors have are unlikely to increase the risks to a pregnancy. For more information, please see the MotherToBaby fact sheet Paternal Exposures at https://mothertobaby.org/fact-sheets/paternal-exposures-pregnancy/ .
Quoted from MotherToBaby Fact Sheets — Carisoprodol, published April 2024. MotherToBaby states its fact sheets should not take the place of medical care and advice from your healthcare providers.
Breastfeeding is a separate question — what LactMed says about carisoprodol
This is general reference information, not medical advice. Whether to take any medication in pregnancy is a decision for you and your prescriber; do not start or stop a drug on your own, because an untreated condition can also carry risk.