Lyrica Drug For Pain, Epilepsy & Anxiety May Increase Risk For Birth Defects, According To Study

A new study suggests that the drug Lyrica (generic name: pregabalin) may slightly increase the risk of babies for major birth defects. Lyrica is commonly used for treating epilepsy, anxiety and fibromyalgia.

The small research compared 164 women who took Lyrica in the first trimester of pregnancy with 656 women who did not take Lyrica during their pregnancy. The researchers found out that 6 percent of the pregnant women who took Lyrica gave birth to babies with major birth defects compared to 2 percent for the pregnant women who did not take Lyrica during their pregnancy.

"The risk of birth defects is probably higher with Lyrica," Dr. Page Pennell, a Harvard Medical School associate professor of neurology, told U.S. News. "If you have a planned pregnancy, it gives the woman a chance to discuss with her doctor the pros and cons of staying on a medication."

However, the study results should be taken with caution, according to senior study author Dr. Thierry Buclin. "It's a warning, but it cannot be taken as a certainty."

Steven Danehy, a spokesman of Pfizer, -- the company that makes Lyrica -- commented that the research is very limited and cannot be used to make conclusions and links between major birth defects and taking the drug. He also added that many of the affected women presented in the research had a history of diabetes and smoking which can also cause major birth defects.

There are several ways for women to lower their baby's risk of being born with major birth defects. These include getting adequate amounts of folic acid every day, avoiding any amount of alcohol, quitting smoking, avoiding secondhand smoke, avoiding illegal drugs, maintaining a normal body weight, eating a healthy diet and seeing a doctor regularly for check-ups and to know if there are any medications that need to be discontinued, according to the CDC.