This sheet is about exposure to prucalopride in pregnancy and while breastfeeding. This information should not take the place of medical care and advice from your healthcare provider.
What is prucalopride?
Prucalopride is a medication used to treat adults for functional constipation (chronic idiopathic constipation). It comes in tablet form and is taken orally (by mouth). It is sold under the brand name Motegrity®.
Other forms of constipation may be treated by over-the-counter (OTC) laxatives. For more information about OTC laxatives, please see the MotherToBaby fact sheet at https://mothertobaby.org/fact-sheets/laxatives/.
Sometimes when people find out they are pregnant, they think about changing how they take their medication, or stopping their medication altogether. However, it is important to talk with your healthcare providers before making any changes to how you take this medication. Your healthcare providers can talk with you about the benefits of treating your condition and the risks of untreated illness during pregnancy.
I take prucalopride. Can it make it harder for me to get pregnant?
Studies have not been done to see if prucalopride could make it harder to get pregnant.
Does taking prucalopride increase the chance for miscarriage?
Miscarriage can occur in any pregnancy. Studies have not been done to see if prucalopride increases the chance for miscarriage. There have been reports of people who used prucalopride during clinical trials and some miscarriages were reported. However, some of these pregnancies had other risks factors for miscarriage, and some of the reports did not have complete information about the pregnancies or outcomes. At this time, it is not known if prucalopride increases the chance for miscarriage.
Does taking prucalopride 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. Based on the studies reviewed, it is not known if prucalopride increases the chance for birth defects above the background risk. Animal studies done by the manufacturer did not show an increase in birth defects with exposure to prucalopride.
Could taking prucalopride in pregnancy increase the chance of other pregnancy-related problems?
Studies have not been done to see if prucalopride 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).
Does taking prucalopride in pregnancy affect future behavior or learning for the child?
Studies have not been done to see if prucalopride can cause behavior or learning issues for the child.
Breastfeeding while taking prucalopride:
There are no published studies looking at the use of prucalopride during breastfeeding. The manufacturer reports an unpublished study that indicates a relatively low amount of prucalopride is passed into breastmilk. If you suspect the baby has any symptoms (such as diarrhea), contact the child’s healthcare provider. Be sure to talk to your healthcare provider about all of your breastfeeding questions.
If a male takes prucalopride, could it affect fertility (ability to get partner pregnant) or increase the chance of birth defects?
Studies have not been done to see if prucalopride could affect male fertility or increase the chance of birth defects. 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/.
MotherToBaby is currently conducting a study looking at prucalopride use in pregnancy. If you are interested in learning more about this study, please call 1-877-311-8972 or visit https://mothertobaby.org/join-study.
Mommy’s Milk Human Milk Biorepository at UC San Diego is conducting a study looking at prucalopride and breastmilk. If you would like to participate or learn more, please visit https://mommysmilkresearch.org/participate.
Please click here to view references.
OTIS/MotherToBaby encourages inclusive and person-centered language. While our name still contains a reference to mothers, we are updating our resources with more inclusive terms. Use of the term mother or maternal refers to a person who is pregnant. Use of the term father or paternal refers to a person who contributes sperm.
