This sheet is about exposure to deucravacitinib in pregnancy and while breastfeeding. This information should not take the place of medical care and advice from your healthcare provider.
What is deucravacitinib?
Deucravacitinib is a medication that has been approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. MotherToBaby has a fact sheet on psoriasis & psoriatic arthritis at: https://mothertobaby.org/fact-sheets/psoriasis-and-pregnancy/. A brand name for deucravacitinib is SOTYKTU™.
Sometimes when people find out they are pregnant, they think about changing how they take their medication, or stopping their medication altogether. However, it is important to talk with your healthcare providers before making any changes to how you take this medication. Your healthcare providers can talk with you about the benefits of treating your condition and the risks of untreated illness during pregnancy.
I take deucravacitinib. Can it make it harder for me to get pregnant?
Studies have not been done to see if deucravacitinib can make it harder to get pregnant.
Does taking deucravacitinib increase the chance of miscarriage?
Miscarriage is common and can occur in any pregnancy for many different reasons. Studies have not been done to see if deucravacitinib increases the chance for miscarriage.
Does taking deucravacitinib increase the chance of birth defects?
Every pregnancy starts out with a 3-5% chance of having a birth defect. This is called the background risk. Human pregnancy studies have not been with deucravacitinib. Experimental animal studies reported by the manufacturer did not find an increased chance of birth defects.
Does taking deucravacitinib in pregnancy increase the chance of other pregnancy related problems?
Studies have not been done to see if deucravacitinib increases the chance for pregnancy-related problems such as preterm delivery (birth before week 37) or low birth weight (weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces [2500 grams] at birth).
Does taking deucravacitinib in pregnancy affect future behavior or learning for the child?
Studies have not been done to see if deucravacitinib can cause behavior or learning issues for the child.
Breastfeeding while taking deucravacitinib:
Deucravacitinib has not been studied for use while breastfeeding. Be sure to talk to your healthcare provider about all of your breastfeeding questions.
If a male takes deucravacitinib, could it affect fertility (ability to get partner pregnant) or increase the chance of birth defects in a partner’s pregnancy?
Studies have not been done to see if deucravacitinib could affect male fertility or increase the chance of birth defects in a partner’s pregnancy. In general, exposures that fathers or sperm donors have are unlikely to increase the risks to a pregnancy. For more information, please see the MotherToBaby fact sheet Paternal Exposures at https://mothertobaby.org/fact-sheets/paternal-exposures-pregnancy/.
Please click here for references.
OTIS/MotherToBaby encourages inclusive and person-centered language. While our name still contains a reference to mothers, we are updating our resources with more inclusive terms. Use of the term mother or maternal refers to a person who is pregnant. Use of the term father or paternal refers to a person who contributes sperm.
