Doctors Warn Botox May Cause Birth Defects

Shockingly, injecting botulinum toxin into pregnant women may cause birth defects in their unborn children, according to Australian doctors.

Yesterday the Cosmetic Physicians Society of Australasia (CPSA) urged its members not to administer Botox to pregnant women following reports linking a woman’s use of the toxin during her pregnancy in 2005 to her child being born deaf and blind. The woman did not use Botox, but a rival botulinum type A toxin called Dysport during her first trimester according to information obtained through Freedom of Information laws. The birth defect was among 46 different adverse reactions to the toxin reported to Australian authorities since 1994. The CPSA said that though “botulinum toxin has a long history of efficacy and a robust safety profile,” it should not be administered during pregnancy and breastfeeding, or when the patient has glaucoma or neuromuscular disease. [The Sydney Morning Herald]