The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has laid out pregnancy categories that denote how safe the drug is during pregnancy.

The categories run from A to X with A being the most safe and X being the least. Category A shows no pregnancy risk, very few drugs are in this category and an example of it is prenatal vitamins.

Category B includes drugs that have shown no risks in animal pregnancies, but that have not bee tested on humans. Category C are drugs that were tested on animals and a fetal risk has been shown, but no studies have been done on humans.

Many prescription drugs fall into this category. Category D are drugs that show fetal risks, but the benefits outweigh the risks in some cases. The last category is Category X where the risks outweigh the benefits completely.

If you or a loved one’s child has suffered from a birth defect after taking Depakote while pregnant, contact the Depakote birth defect lawyers of Williams Kherkher by calling 800-761-3187.