The Safety of OnabotulinumtoxinA (OnabotA) During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: Implications for Chronic Migraines
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Methods
2.1. Search Strategies
2.2. Eligibility Criteria
2.3. Data Extraction
2.4. Outcome
2.5. Risk of Bias Assessment
3. Results
- Foetal loss
- Foetal anomaly
- Breastfeeding
4. Discussion
- Considerations from botulism in human pregnancies and animal models
4.1. Strengths and Limitations of This Systematic Review
4.2. Future Directions
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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| Study | Number of Patients | Number of Pregnancies | Number of Foetuses | OnabotA Dose/U | Number of Doses * | Indication (n) | Timing of Injection (n) | Pregnancy Outcomes | Lactation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Term—Healthy | Foetal Anomalies/ Abnormal Outcomes in Live Births | Foetal Loss (n) | |||||||||
| Brin et al. [27] | 397 | 397 | 404 | <50–>400 | N/A | Aesthetic (120) Migraines (100) Headache (3) Movement Disorders (41) Hyperhidrosis (27) Urological Disorders (7) Gastrointestinal Disorders (6) Spasticity (6) Pain disorders (3) Miscellaneous Neurological Disorders (27) Unknown (57) | Preconception (51) 1st trimester (250) 2nd trimester (12) 3rd trimester (5) Unknown (79) | 299 | Foetal anomalies (9) Premature birth (4) | Miscarriage (72) Abortion (20) | 0 |
| Wong et al. [29] ** | 126 | 126 | 126 | N/A | N/A | Migraines (126) | Pre-conception (46) 1st Trimester (80) 2nd Trimester (N/A) 3rd Trimester (N/A) Unknown (0) | 123 | 0 | 3 | 94 |
| Morgan et al. [30] | 16 | 19 | 19 | 1.25–30 | N/A | Cervical dystonia (9) Strabismus (2) Blepharospasm (2) Limb dystonia (1) Oromandibular dystonia (1) Spasmodic dystonia (1) | Pre-conception (0) 1st Trimester (12) 2nd Trimester (1) 3rd Trimester (1) Unknown (1) | 17 | 0 | Spontaneous (1) Abortion (1) | 0 |
| Newman et al. [31] | 1 | 4 | 4 | 300 | 2–4 | Cervical dystonia (1) | Pre-conception (4) 1st Trimester (2) 2nd Trimester (3) 3rd Trimester (4) Unknown (0) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robinson et al. [32] | 1 | 1 | 1 | 71 | 1 | Migraines (1) | Pre-conception (0) 1st Trimester (0) 2nd Trimester (1) 3rd Trimester (0) Unknown (0) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mezaal et al. [33] | 1 | 1 | 1 | 155 | N/A | Migraines (1) | Unknown (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Eladawi, S.; Koonalintip, P.; Ngomuo, A.; Leech, E.; Thaller, M.; Wakerley, B.R. The Safety of OnabotulinumtoxinA (OnabotA) During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: Implications for Chronic Migraines. Life 2026, 16, 1228. https://doi.org/10.3390/life16081228
Eladawi S, Koonalintip P, Ngomuo A, Leech E, Thaller M, Wakerley BR. The Safety of OnabotulinumtoxinA (OnabotA) During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: Implications for Chronic Migraines. Life. 2026; 16(8):1228. https://doi.org/10.3390/life16081228
Chicago/Turabian StyleEladawi, Sondos, Prut Koonalintip, Amelia Ngomuo, Emily Leech, Mark Thaller, and Benjamin R. Wakerley. 2026. "The Safety of OnabotulinumtoxinA (OnabotA) During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: Implications for Chronic Migraines" Life 16, no. 8: 1228. https://doi.org/10.3390/life16081228
APA StyleEladawi, S., Koonalintip, P., Ngomuo, A., Leech, E., Thaller, M., & Wakerley, B. R. (2026). The Safety of OnabotulinumtoxinA (OnabotA) During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: Implications for Chronic Migraines. Life, 16(8), 1228. https://doi.org/10.3390/life16081228

