Botox Effect on Pregnancy

Hi fleecy, There must have been thousands of women like you who received cosmetic Botox before they found out that they were pregnant. I am sure that we would have heard about a cause and effect relationship if there was one. Unfortunately, there are far too many babies more each day with birth defects to women who never even thought about Botox. A retired OB-GYN recently shared that early in his career of delivering babies, when sadly there was a problem, it was thought to be related... more

Obviously an expectant mother should not receive Botox or fillers. Why take even the smallest chance with the new baby? However in your situation, there was probably no damage done, at least as far as any reports I have ever read or come across. Botox is quickly protein bound and there is no evidence it crosses the placental barrier to damage the fetus. I certainly would not get an ulcer worrying about something that you can't do anything about now, and is probably a non-issue!... more

Because no formal testing has been done for Botox in pregnant women, no one can actually answer that question, although there is a very small study of women who did receive Botox while pregnant and there were no effects to their children. While there are no official reports of adverse consequences, experts do not feel it is possible to say that it is definitively safe. An experienced professional would not recommend the application during pregnancy, and until one has finished... more

Congratulations on your pregnancy.   While it is highly unlikely that Botox will cause any long term problems because it acts locally, no one knows for sure.

Botox is a locally active agent. Meaning it is injected and acts on the muscle it is injected to. Although it will diffuse mildly into the surrounding muscles, unless it is injected directly into a vein it will not cause problems systemically. Remember botox is a paralytic so if it gets into your system other things will stop working first.

At this point it is not a cause for worry. Botox should not be injected in pregnant women, but this is just a precaution and there is no established or documented issues with incidental Botox injections. Good luck.

It is unlikely that there will be a problem. Now that you know you are pregnant, just take prudent precautions. I wouldn't go for more Botox or other elective procedures until after delivery. www.drkasden.us scottkinfw@msn.com

This is nearly impossible to quantify. Remember that botox is derived from the bacterial byproduct that was intially known to occur commonly in canned vegetables and fruits. In very high doses this caused Botulism and in rare instances even death. However, in reality, I am sure that people and pregnant women have been exposed to this in considerably lower doses wihout ill effects. The doses used in Botox are exceptionally small. Generally the medication is taken up by nerve endings in... more

Dear Fleecy, We absolutely do not recommend BOTOX (or virtually anything else) when you are pregnant. However, it is not so uncommon to find out that a BOTOX treatment occurred after conception. There is no evidence that this makes any difference for the developing fetus. However, it is a common thing to worry about because, lets face it, a new mom to be has to worry about so many things. The dose of BOTOX used for cosmetic purposes is so tiny that it is thought that it stays localized... more

Although I would not recommend Botox or fillers for women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant in the near future, I have not heard or read of any cases of birth defects attributable to Botox for cosmetic purposes in humans. I am certain that your circumstances are not unique. Fillers seem even less likely to cause problems during fetal development. I hope you find this reassuring.