Summary
Foetal minoxidil syndrome is characterised by a group of symptoms that may be observed in a foetus or newborn when the mother has taken minoxidil during pregnancy. Minoxidil is a vasodilator used in the therapy of hypertension, usually in combination with a beta blocker and a diuretic. It is also marketed as a topical solution to induce scalp hair growth. The effects of minoxidil use during human pregnancy have not been investigated in large cohort studies. However, there have been a few case reports of pregnant women who used this drug, and the exposed newborns were healthy, apart from signs of hypertrichosis. The hypertrichosis, a characteristic side-effect of minoxidil use in both adults and children, gradually diminished during the first six postnatal months. Another exposed foetus had severe cardiovascular abnormalities and died shortly after birth, and one infant was born with hypertrichosis, omphalocele, cardiac defects, genitourinary malformations, and facial dysmorphism. Except for the hypertrichosis, no causal relationship between the congenital abnormalities and minoxidil could be established. Postmarketing surveillance of the drug should be continued, but inadvertent exposure to minoxidil during pregnancy is not grounds for termination of pregnancy. *Author: Dr E. Robert-Gnansia (February 2006)*.
