The decision of whether to take tramadol (or another narcotic medication) during pregnancy needs to be made with your doctor in order to balance the potential side effects and risks with your level of pain.
Tramadol is a synthetic analog of codeine, which is an opioid medication. However, tramadol doesn’t tend to have the same side effects as other narcotic medications. Because of this, it’s often prescribed as a potent pain killer.
Most data suggest that tramadol doesn’t increase the risk of birth defects, but it may cause withdrawal symptoms in newborns if used at high doses for prolonged periods of time in pregnancy. These features of tramadol are similar to narcotic medications.
For up-to-date information on the safety of medications in pregnancy, see www.reprotox.org 1 .
