Pregnant women in Australia get final word on Botox -- don’t do it

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Is it safe to get botox during pregnancy? Such a query may sound selfish and senseless, but trawl a few pregnancy forums and you’ll see that it comes up now and again among moms-to-be. And when doctors advise against sushi (because of mercury) and tuna fish for pregnant women, um, how can a toxin be a good thing?

According to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, the Cosmetic Physicians Society of Australia has advised their doctors not to use botox because it was linked to a case in which a woman’s baby was born blind and deaf after using an injectable anti-wrinkle treatment. This is the first case I have actually read that makes a direct correlation between the toxin and birth defects.

If you call around to Los Angeles medical centers, you’ll learn that most doctors won’t do it. But it’s rumored that some doctors and med spas will actually inject women if they come into the office. (It’s all very hush-hush.) Dermatologist Dr. Jessica Wu won’t do it. But she does say that she gets calls from women who have just delivered their baby an hour ago and want to make an appointment to come in and get their botox -- if they don’t plan to breast feed, of course. It’s understandable that some women don’t want their faces to fall like souffles if they have been using botox for some time. But you would think a shift in priorities would stifle some vanity.

I am in the midst of reporting a story on beauty and pregnancy. Would you get your hair dyed or nails done if you’re pregnant? Got a safe alternative? Weigh in.

-- Monica Corcoran