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EXPOSURE TO HYDROQUINONE IN PREGNANCY

Date of issue: April 2020, Version: 2

Hydroquinone is unlicensed in the UK but is used topically for skin de-pigmentation in the treatment of conditions such as melasma (chloasma) and vitiligo. It is also used in black and white photographic developers as a reducing agent. Extremely limited data are available regarding pregnancy outcome following exposure to hydroquinone and human data on which to assess teratogenic risk are lacking.

As with all chemicals, unnecessary exposure should be avoided. The use of hydroquinone-containing skin lightening preparations during pregnancy is not recommended. Where occupational exposure is unavoidable, precautions should be taken to ensure that exposure is well within the recommended exposure limits and not associated with toxic symptoms. Protective clothing should be worn and the work area should be adequately ventilated.

Exposure to hydroquinone at any stage in pregnancy would not usually be regarded as medical grounds for termination of pregnancy, but due to the lack of data the need for additional fetal monitoring should be considered on a case-by-case basis. Other risk factors may also be present in individual cases which may independently increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcome. Clinicians are reminded of the importance of consideration of such factors when performing case-specific risk assessments.

This is a summary of the full UKTIS monograph for health care professionals and should not be used in isolation. The full UKTIS monograph and access to any hyperlinked related documents is available to NHS health care professionals who are logged in.

If you have a patient with exposure to a drug or chemical and require assistance in making a patient-specific risk assessment, please telephone UKTIS on 0344 892 0909 to discuss the case with a teratology specialist.

If you would like to report a pregnancy to UKTIS please click here to download our pregnancy reporting form. Please encourage all women to complete an online reporting form.

Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure that this monograph was accurate and up-to-date at the time of writing, however it cannot cover every eventuality and the information providers cannot be held responsible for any adverse outcomes of the measures recommended. The final decision regarding which treatment is used for an individual patient remains the clinical responsibility of the prescriber. This material may be freely reproduced for education and not for profit purposes within the UK National Health Service, however no linking to this website or reproduction by or for commercial organisations is permitted without the express written permission of this service. This document is regularly reviewed and updated. Only use UKTIS monographs downloaded directly from UKTIS.org to ensure you are using the most up-to-date version.