US Hair Restoration Home | Contact US

Posts Tagged ‘penis’

How is Finasteride used if My Wife Is Pregnant

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

finasteride during pregnancyWe are getting another question on the Propecia use in men whom their wives are pregnant.  A hair loss patient just asked about possible side effects that finasteride (Propecia) may cause. He has read on the manufacturer’s instructions that broken tablets must not be handled by women who are or may become pregnant.

“Can finasteride cause damage to pregnant womens health or to the health of the developing fetus? Here I’d like to know also if finasteride can be found in body liquids such as men’s saliva, sweat or sperm. In such case is there any risk that a pregnant woman is exposed to finasteride? Are there any recommendations concerning taking or not Propecia before planned or during wife’s pregnancy?”

The answer to this patient’s question, which is a common question that many of young patients may ask is that finasteride (Propecia) blocks the conversion of testosterone to dihydroxytestostrone (DHT). DHT does not have any known role in adult men development, but it is crucial in development of a male fetus and child external genitalia (their penis). We at our Los Angeles, California hair transplant clinics don’t recommend taking finasteride for hair loss prevention and treatment before adulthood while maturation of external genitalia is not completed. Pregnant women should not take finasteride because of its effect on the external genitalia of their male unborn baby.

As we all know, finasteride (Propecia) is designed to block the enzyme that converts testosterone to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT does not have any real known role in an adult male but it is crucial in the developmental stage of a male fetus as well as the development of a young male’s external genitalia (penis). After reviewing the facts at our Los Angeles, California hair transplant clinics we do not recommend taking finasteride for hair loss prevention and / or treatment before adulthood while maturation of external genitalia is not completed. For this same reason, pregnant women should not take or handle finasteride because of its effects on the male external genitalia of an unborn baby.

Although the pharmaceutical company suggested that pregnant women should not be exposed to finasteride. They should not even be cutting pills that might increase the chance of inhaling small particles of finasteride. You are right about finasteride being present in body secretion such as semen and saliva. However, the amount of the medication is so small that it is considered negligible or safe for pregnant women.  So the research shows that it is safe for pregnant women to be exposed to the secretions of a man whom takes finasteride. That is why we do not recommend men to stop taking finasteride if their wife becomes pregnant. There has been no evidence of any risk to a male baby from secretion of finasteride through the father’s saliva, sweat or sperm.

They even mention cutting, ingestion or inhalation of small particles of finasteride to be harmful during pregnancy. You are right to be concerned of finasteride being present in body secretion such as semen and saliva. You can find a very small trace of finasteride in body secretions but the amount of the medication is so small that it is considered negligible or safe for pregnant women. Studies show that pregnant women can be exposed to male secretion even if they are currently taking finasteride. Studies have not found any evidence of risk to a male baby from secretion with trace of finasteride through the father’s saliva, sweat or sperm. So in short we conclude that men do not need to stop using finasteride while having their wives pregnant.