Heart Health High Cholesterol Treatment Can You Take a Statin If You're Pregnant? By Jennifer Moll, PharmD Jennifer Moll, PharmD Facebook Jennifer Moll, MS, PharmD, is a pharmacist actively involved in educating patients about the importance of heart disease prevention. Learn about our editorial process Updated on August 24, 2021 Medically reviewed Verywell Health articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and healthcare professionals. These medical reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by Jeffrey S. Lander, MD Medically reviewed by Jeffrey S. Lander, MD LinkedIn Twitter Jeffrey S. Lander, MD, is a board-certified cardiologist and the President and Governor of the American College of Cardiology, New Jersey chapter. Learn about our Medical Expert Board Print Statins are prescribed in cases where diet and exercise are not enough to lower your cholesterol levels. Because of their ability to impact all aspects of your lipid profile, statins are one of the most commonly prescribed lipid-lowering medications. Although you might think of high cholesterol and triglyceride levels as something to worry about as you get older, you can have high cholesterol levels at a younger age, too—even in your 20s, 30s, and 40s, which is commonly around the time many women begin having children. Having high cholesterol might mean that you'll be placed on cholesterol-lowering medication like a statin. Erik Isakson/Getty Images There are currently seven statins on the U.S. market: Crestor (rosuvastatin) Lescol, Lescol XL (fluvastatin) Lipitor (atorvastatin) Livalo (pitavastatin) Mevacor, Altoprev (lovastatin) Pravachol (pravastatin) Zocor (simvastatin) Though there have not been a lot of studies examining the effects of statins on pregnant women, animal and human studies that do exist suggest a possible risk of fetal birth defects when taking statins while pregnant. Therefore, medications in this category should not be taken if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant unless the benefits of taking the medication outweigh the potential harms of the drug. The Research While not all animals involved in these studies experienced birth defects, the research is not conclusive. Human studies have also not been conclusive. Although birth defects, such as heart defects, cleft palate, neural tube defects, and other structural abnormalities occurred, they were still considered rare. Additionally, most of the mothers in these studies had other pre-existing conditions (such as diabetes or obesity) or were taking more than one prescription or over-the-counter drug, which could also have played a role in the defects noted in these studies. While the evidence that statins can cause birth defects in humans is not conclusive, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that statins not be taken by women who are pregnant. So, if you are taking a statin and are planning to become pregnant, you should let your healthcare provider know of your plans. They will want to discuss alternative ways of managing your lipid levels during your pregnancy. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Looking to start a diet to better manage your cholesterol? Changing lifelong eating habits can be scary at first, but our guide will make it easier. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit 5 Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Feingold KR. Cholesterol Lowering Drugs. In: Feingold KR, Anawalt B, Boyce A, et al., editors. Endotext [Internet]. South Dartmouth (MA): MDText.com, Inc. Centers for Disease Control. High Cholesterol Facts. Godlee F. Statins and The BMJ. BMJ 2014; 349 :g5038 doi:10.1136/bmj.g5038 Kusters DM, Hassani Lahsinoui H, van de Post JA, et al. Statin use during pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Expert Rev Cardiovasc Ther. 2012 Mar;10(3):363-78. doi:10.1586/erc.11.196 Bateman BT, Hernandez-Diaz S, Fischer MA, et al. Statins and congenital malformations: cohort study. BMJ 2015; 350:h1035 doi:10.1136/bmj.h1035 Additional Reading Ofori B, Rey E, Berard A. Risk of congenital anomalies in pregnant users of statin drugs. Br J Clin Pharmacol 2007;64:496-509. Petersen EE, Mitchell AA, Carey JC et al. Maternal exposure to statins and risk for birth defects: a case series approach. Am J Med Genet 2008;146A:2701-2705.