Effects of Prenatal Meprobamate and Chlordiazepoxide Hydrochloride on Human Embryonic and Fetal Development

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Abstract
To examine the teratogenic potential of the minor tranquilizers, the incidence of severe congenital anomalies per 100 live births was studied in children of mothers who had received prescriptions for meprobamate, chlordiazepoxide, other drugs, or no drug for minor psychoneurotic complaints (anxiety) during pregnancy. These four populations were from a prospective longitudinal study of pregnancy and child health that included 19,044 live births. Rates of the anomalies after prescription of meprobamate or chlordiazepoxide in early pregnancy (the first 42 days) were higher 12.1 per 100 and 11.4 per 100 respectively than in children of the other-drug, 4.6 per 100, or no-drug cohorts, 2.6 per 100. When the reference date was later in pregnancy (43 days to termination), statistically insignificant differences in rates of the anomalies were observed among the four groups. These data suggest that meprobamate, and possibly chlordiazepoxide, may be teratogenic when taken during the first six weeks of gestation. (N Engl J Med 291:1268–1271, 1974)

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