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Obesity - Management
Can orlistat be used during pregnancy and breastfeeding?
- Orlistat is not recommended for use during pregnancy.
- Orlistat is contraindicated during breastfeeding.
Basis for recommendation
- The use of weight-loss medications during pregnancy is not recommended because they may interfere with adequate nutrition for both the woman and the fetus.
- No clinical data on pregnancies exposed to orlistat are available. The potential effects on the fetus are unknown. Studies in animals do not indicate direct or indirect harmful effects with respect to pregnancy, embryonal/fetal development, parturition, or postnatal development.
- It is not known whether orlistat is secreted into human milk.
[ABPI Medicines Compendium, 2006; Micromedex, 2007]
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