Pregnancy & Lactation : הריון/הנקה

4.6    Fertility, pregnancy and lactation

Women of childbearing potential
Women of childbearing potential should use effective methods of contraception during treatment and for at least 15 weeks after treatment.

Pregnancy
Data from a moderate number of prospectively collected pregnancies following exposure to STELARA with known outcomes, including more than 450 pregnancies exposed during the first trimester, do not indicate an increased risk of major congenital malformations in the newborn.

Animal studies do not indicate direct or indirect harmful effects with respect to pregnancy, embryonic/foetal development, parturition or postnatal development (see section 5.3).

However, the available clinical experience is limited. As a precautionary measure, it is preferable to avoid the use of STELARA in pregnancy.

Ustekinumab crosses the placenta and has been detected in the serum of infants born to female patients treated with ustekinumab during pregnancy. The clinical impact of this is unknown, however, the risk of infection in infants exposed in utero to ustekinumab may be increased after birth.
Administration of live vaccines (such as the BCG vaccine) to infants exposed in utero to ustekinumab is not recommended for twelve months following birth or until ustekinumab infant serum levels are undetectable (see sections 4.4 and 4.5). If there is a clear clinical benefit for the individual infant, 
administration of a live vaccine might be considered at an earlier timepoint, if infant ustekinumab serum levels are undetectable.

Breast-feeding
Limited data from published literature suggests that ustekinumab is excreted in human breast milk in very small amounts. It is not known if ustekinumab is absorbed systemically after ingestion. Because of the potential for adverse reactions in nursing infants from ustekinumab, a decision on whether to discontinue breast-feeding during treatment and up to 15 weeks after treatment or to discontinue therapy with STELARA must be made taking into account the benefit of breast-feeding to the child and the benefit of STELARA therapy to the woman.

Fertility
The effect of ustekinumab on human fertility has not been evaluated (see section 5.3).