Transplacental passage of atenolol in man.

Maternal and umbilical serum concentrations of atenolol, a hydrophilic, cardioselective beta-adrenoceptor antagonist, were studied at delivery in seven cases of pregnancy hypertension. The drug had been administered to each patient for at least one week. Atenolol was detected in both maternal and umbilical serum in six cases, showing that there is transplacental passage of the drug. In the seventh case, who had stopped taking atenolol more than one day before delivery, neither maternal nor umbilical serum contained a measurable quantity of the drug. Atenolol concentration varied 3- to 6-fold between individuals, but there was no systematic difference between maternal and umbilical levels. It seems reasonable to assume that during steady state conditions the blood level of atenolol in mother and fetus is approximately equal, and that fetal accumulation of the drug does not occur.