How safe is takng ambien while pregnant?

Question

I'v been taking 20mg ambien nightly. I am almost 36 wks pregnant. I have taken the pills for most of my pregnancy, although the doctor percribed only 10 mg. Before becoming pregnant, I took up to 40 mg per night. Once I found out I was pregnant, I tried to quit, b/c I know many drugs are not safe for the baby. But I found it almost impossible to fall asleep, or to sleep well on my own, so I asked my doctor for a rx. He gave me one for 10 mg. He is not aware that I take two per night instead of one. I tried to in the begining but, one simply did nothing for me. I still had trouble falling asleep. I figured it was b/c of the high (or relatively high) dosage, my body had built up a resistance to such a small dose. I know it's late in my pregnany to be asking this question, but will/can the dosage I have been taking hurt the baby or cause her to have any problems?

Answer 1

You may want to read up on this medication.

http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/zolpid...

Answer 2

The problem with taking medications while pregnant and exceeding the recommended dose is that we have no idea what if any effects it will have on the pregnancy.  Frankly, I'm not even sure if Ambien is okay to take during pregnancy, but if your OB prescribed it at 10 mg, then I suppose it's "okay."  But even in the 3rd trimester, taking any agent for which we don't have data is a huge gamble and we can only hope that there's no untoward consequence.