. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 Sep 17.

Published in final edited form as: Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 2007 May;33(2):237–v. doi: 10.1016/j.rdc.2007.01.002

Table 5.

Medications to prevent and treat lupus activity in pregnancy

Treatment	FDA Classification ^a	Recommended us in SLE pregnancy
Prenatal Multivitamin	A	All women
Acetaminophen	A	As needed for pain control
NSAID	B 1^st & 2^nd trimesters. D 3^rd trimester	As needed for pain control in the latter 1^st trimester and 2^nd trimester only. Discontinue in 3^rd trimester.
Prednisone & Prednisolone	B	As needed to control lupus activity.
Dexamethasone & Betamethasone	C	Not for treatment of lupus. As needed to treat the fetus.
Hydroxychloroquine	C	For all women if on prior to pregnancy or to treat mild flares in pregnancy
IVIg	C	As needed to control lupus activity.
Mycophenolate mofetil	C	Only if no other options
Azathioprine	D	Continue if on prior to pregnancy. May help treat flares.
Cyclophosphamide	D	Only if no other options
Methotrexate	X	No use
Leflunomide	X	No use

FDA pregnancy risk categories: A, no risk in controlled clinic trials of humans; B, human data reassuring or when absent, animal studies show no risk; C, human data are lacking and animal studies show risk or are not done; D, positive evidence of risk but the benefit may outweigh the risks; X, contraindicated in pregnancy.