Is Toradol Safe During Pregnancy? -- An Overview
Most healthcare providers do not recommend taking
Toradol® (
ketorolac tromethamine) during pregnancy because it may adversely affect a fetus or complicate
labor and delivery. Pregnant women should not take Toradol at all during the
third trimester.
Toradol is considered a pregnancy Category C medicine by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which means that Toradol has not been studied in pregnant women. However, when studied in pregnant animals, the drug did cause problems to the unborn fetus. This suggests that Toradol could potentially cause harm to your unborn child. It is important to note that animals do not always respond to medicines the same way that humans do.
Toradol and Pregnancy Category C
The FDA uses a pregnancy category system to classify the possible risks to a fetus when a specific medicine is taken during pregnancy. Pregnancy Category C is given to medicines that show side effects to the fetus in animal studies, but for which no human studies in pregnant women have been done. Also, medicines that have not been studied in any pregnant women or animals automatically are given a pregnancy Category C rating.
A pregnancy Category C medicine may still be given to a pregnant woman if her healthcare provider believes that its benefits outweigh the possible risks to the unborn child.
If you are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant while taking Toradol, let your healthcare provider know. He or she will consider both the benefits and risks of Toradol during pregnancy before making a recommendation for your particular situation.
