Avodart and Pregnancy

There are some situations in which it is not advisable to take Avodart, and pregnancy is one of them. The FDA considers Avodart a pregnancy Category X medicine because it showed problems to fetuses in previous animal studies. Women who are or may be pregnant should not even touch Avodart capsules at all, as Avodart may be absorbed through the skin. However, it appears that when Avodart is used by a pregnant woman's male partner, no problems with the fetus will occur as a result of the medication.

About Avodart

Is Avodart Safe During Pregnancy? -- An Overview

For women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, Avodart^® (dutasteride) is very dangerous. This is based on animal studies that looked at the effects of Avodart during pregnancy. Based on its risks to the unborn fetus, Avodart is classified as a pregnancy Category X medication.

Avodart and Pregnancy Category X

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses a pregnancy category system to classify the possible risks to a fetus when a specific medicine is taken during pregnancy. Pregnancy Category X is given to medicines that show problems to the fetus in animal studies or in humans who have mistakenly taken the medicine.

Because it would be unethical to give Avodart to pregnant women, the use of Avodart in pregnant women has never been studied in a clinical trial. However, we know about the problems Avodart might cause based on studies in monkeys, rats, and rabbits. The use of a pregnancy Category X medicine during pregnancy is not recommended.

Avodart should not be used in women who are pregnant or may become pregnant. In fact, women who are or may be pregnant should not even touch Avodart capsules at all, as Avodart may be absorbed through the skin.

Avodart, Pregnancy, and Birth Defects

Avodart works by blocking the conversion of testosterone into DHT (dihydrotestosterone), thereby decreasing the amount of DHT in the body. Since DHT is important for male genital development, if taken during pregnancy, Avodart may cause abnormalities to the external genitals of a male fetus.

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