Pregnancy, breastfeeding and fertility while taking pravastatin

Pravastatin and pregnancy

Pravastatin is not recommended in pregnancy. If you become pregnant while taking pravastatin, stop taking the medicine and tell your doctor.

Talk to your doctor if you are planning to get pregnant. Whether you continue taking pravastatin or not depends on your reason for taking it. It may be possible to change to a different medicine that is better in pregnancy. In some circumstances, it may be better to keep taking pravastatin until you have a positive pregnancy test and then stop.

Pravastatin and breastfeeding

It may be OK to take pravastatin while breastfeeding, but you might also be told to stop taking your medicine until you are no longer breastfeeding. Your doctor or pharmacist will help you decide.

There is some information which shows that pravastatin passes into breast milk in tiny amounts. It's unlikely to cause any side effects in your baby, or cause any effects on your baby’s cholesterol.

If you notice that your baby is not feeding as well as usual, or is not putting on weight as you would expect, or if you have any other concerns about your baby, talk to your health visitor, midwife or doctor as soon as possible.

Pravastatin and fertility

There's no clear evidence that taking pravastatin reduces fertility in either men or women. However, speak to a pharmacist or your doctor before taking it if you're trying to get pregnant.