Is Botox Safe During Pregnancy?

Jan. 10, 2008 — -- Most mothers-to-be already know the basic dos and don'ts of pregnancy: Get plenty of rest, no smoking and no drinking — but what about cosmetic procedures like Botox?

Despite little research to determine what, if any, effect wrinkle-eraser Botox could have on pregnant women and their unborn children, obstetricians and cosmetic surgeons overwhelmingly told ABCNEWS.com that they would not advise their pregnant patients to get injections of the popular drug.

"I can't tell you it's not safe, but I can tell you it's not advisable," said Donnica Moore, the president of Sapphire Women's Health Group based in New Jersey. "In pregnancy our general premise is that any type of medical treatment or intervention that justifies the risks … is OK to use, but there is no medical justification for Botox cosmetic in pregnancy."

The lack of research surrounding the use of Botox during pregnancy should be a deterrent, said Moore, an obstetrician, who said she would never advise one of her patients to get Botox.

"As long as the evidence is conflicting or confusing, we should err on the side of not doing whatever the intervention is," said Moore.

And as for women who get Botox before they become pregnant, there is no way of knowing whether there will be any long-term effects on the unborn child, according to Moore.

"If this is something [a pregnant woman] did before she was pregnant, there's nothing that she can do about it now," Moore told ABCNEWS.com. "And as I said, we don't know of any definite risks."

Botox is the trade name for botulinum toxin A, one of the toxins produced by the botulism bacteria that causes food poisoning. The compound is safe when injected beneath the skin and it works by weakening or paralyzing muscles or blocking nerves, thus causing wrinkles and lines to be less visible.

The effects last about three to four months. But according to the Food and Drug Administration, side effects can include pain at the injection site, flulike symptoms, headache and upset stomach.

Part of the reason there is so little research about cosmetic procedures during pregnancy is that in order to weigh the effects of the process, doctors and scientists would have to actually perform the procedures on pregnant women, said Roxanne Guy, the former president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.