Can I take betamethasone for skin while pregnant or breastfeeding?
A plain-words look at what the NHS, the US drug label and LactMed say about betamethasone for skin.
In short
Pregnancy: Betamethasone skin treatments are safe to use while you're pregnant.
Breastfeeding: Betamethasone skin treatments can be used while you're breastfeeding.
Your doctor, midwife or pharmacist can help you decide.
What this means for you
Pregnancy
- Because betamethasone goes on your skin, very little reaches your bloodstream and almost none reaches your baby.
- Even if a little does reach your baby, it will not harm them.
Breastfeeding
- Try to put it on as small an area as you can, and try not to use it for long periods.
- How much reaches breast milk is not known, but the amount is probably tiny.
- It's unlikely to cause side effects in your baby.
- Make sure your baby does not touch any part of your body where you've put betamethasone.
- If your breasts need treating, a milder medicine might be a better choice.
- However, if your doctor or pharmacist advises betamethasone, clean any cream or ointment off your nipples or breasts, then wash your hands, before you feed your baby.
- Cream is the better choice because it washes off more easily.
- Some betamethasone skin treatments also include other ingredients, for example antifungals and antibacterials.
- These are still OK to use while breastfeeding.
- If your baby is not feeding as well as they usually do, or you're worried about your baby in any other way, contact your health visitor, midwife, pharmacist or doctor promptly.
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist
This page is educational, not advice for your own situation. Talk to your doctor, midwife or pharmacist before you start, stop or change any medicine in pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
The details: what each source says
Betamethasone for skin in pregnancy
The NHS says
Betamethasone skin treatments are safe to use while you're pregnant.
Because betamethasone goes on your skin, very little reaches your bloodstream and almost none reaches your baby. Even if a little does reach your baby, it will not harm them.
In our words, from the NHS page Betamethasone for skin (nhs.uk). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL v3.0). The NHS does not endorse this site.
The US drug label says
8.1 Pregnancy Risk Summary There are no available data on betamethasone dipropionate ointment (augmented) use in pregnant women to identify a drug-associated risk of major birth defects, miscarriage, or adverse maternal or fetal outcomes. Observational studies suggest an increased risk of low birthweight infants with the use of greater than 300 grams of potent or very potent topical corticosteroid during a pregnancy. Advise pregnant women that betamethasone dipropionate ointment (augmented) may increase the risk of having a low birthweight infant and to use betamethasone dipropionate ointment (augmented) on the smallest area of skin and for the shortest duration possible. In animal reproduction studies, increased malformations, including umbilical hernias, cephalocele, and cleft palate, were observed after intramuscular administration of betamethasone dipropionate to pregnant rabbits. The available data do not allow the calculation of relevant comparisons between the systemic exposure of betamethasone dipropionate in animal studies to the systemic exposure that would be expected in humans after topical use of betamethasone dipropionate ointment (augmented) (see Data) .
Prescribing label, section “8.1 Pregnancy” (opening excerpt): Betamethasone dipropionate (topical), A-S Medication Solutions. Read the full section on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.
This quote is from the topical formulation label.
Betamethasone for skin while breastfeeding
The NHS says
Betamethasone skin treatments can be used while you're breastfeeding. Try to put it on as small an area as you can, and try not to use it for long periods.
How much reaches breast milk is not known, but the amount is probably tiny. It's unlikely to cause side effects in your baby.
Make sure your baby does not touch any part of your body where you've put betamethasone.
If your breasts need treating, a milder medicine might be a better choice. However, if your doctor or pharmacist advises betamethasone, clean any cream or ointment off your nipples or breasts, then wash your hands, before you feed your baby. Cream is the better choice because it washes off more easily.
Some betamethasone skin treatments also include other ingredients, for example antifungals and antibacterials. These are still OK to use while breastfeeding.
If your baby is not feeding as well as they usually do, or you're worried about your baby in any other way, contact your health visitor, midwife, pharmacist or doctor promptly.
In our words, from the NHS page Betamethasone for skin (nhs.uk). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL v3.0). The NHS does not endorse this site.
LactMed says
Since only extensive application of the most potent corticosteroids may cause systemic effects in the mother, it is unlikely that short-term application of topical corticosteroids would pose a risk to the breastfed infant by passage into breastmilk. However, it would be prudent to use the least potent drug on the smallest area of skin possible. It is particularly important to ensure that the infant's skin does not come into direct contact with the areas of skin that have been treated. Only the lower potency corticosteroids should be used on the nipple or areola where the infant could directly ingest the drugs from the skin; topical betamethasone should be avoided on the nipple.[1] Betamethasone ointment appears to have no advantage over lanolin for treating sore nipples during breastfeeding.[2] Current guidelines allow topical corticosteroids to be applied to the nipples just after nursing for eczema, with the nipples cleaned gently before nursing.[3,4] Only water-miscible cream or gel products should be applied to the breast or nipple because ointments may expose the infant to high levels of mineral paraffins via licking.[5]
“Summary of Use during Lactation”, LactMed record “Betamethasone, Topical” (LM30), quoted verbatim. Everything LactMed reports about Betamethasone, Topical while breastfeeding.
Betamethasone has not been well studied during breastfeeding. Systemic betamethasone is best avoided in favor of one of the shorter-acting and better studied alternatives because of its potency and low protein binding, which favors its passage into milk. Use of betamethasone 3 to 9 days prior to delivery of a preterm infant might decrease postpartum milk production in some women. Local injections, such as for tendinitis, would not be expected to cause any adverse effects in breastfed infants,[1] but might occasionally cause temporary loss of milk supply. See also Betamethasone, Topical.
“Summary of Use during Lactation”, LactMed record “Betamethasone” (LM31), quoted verbatim. Everything LactMed reports about Betamethasone while breastfeeding.
The US prescribing label says
8.2 Lactation Risk Summary There are no data regarding the presence of betamethasone dipropionate in human milk, the effects on the breastfed infant, or the effects on milk production after topical application of betamethasone dipropionate ointment (augmented) to women who are breastfeeding. It is possible that topical administration of betamethasone dipropionate could result in sufficient systemic absorption to produce detectable quantities in human milk. The developmental and health benefits of breastfeeding should be considered along with the mother's clinical need for betamethasone dipropionate ointment (augmented) and any potential adverse effects on the breastfed infant from betamethasone dipropionate ointment (augmented) or from the underlying maternal condition.
Prescribing label, section “8.2 Lactation” (opening excerpt): Betamethasone dipropionate (topical), A-S Medication Solutions. Read the full section on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.
This quote is from the topical formulation label.
Other names
UK brand names (per the NHS): Betnovate, Betacap.
US name: betamethasone.
The NHS has separate pages for other forms: betamethasone for eyes, ears and nose.
Sources
- NHS, Betamethasone for skin (nhs.uk), page last reviewed 13 November 2023. Paraphrased. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- US drug label: Betamethasone dipropionate (topical), A-S Medication Solutions, human prescription drug, label effective 11 May 2026, set ID b5291e39-40a0-4362-9281-97f5fb4025d9. DailyMed (National Library of Medicine). Public domain; quoted verbatim.
- Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), via NCBI Bookshelf, record “Betamethasone, Topical” (LM30), bulk release of 22 September 2026. LactMed on NCBI Bookshelf. Public domain; quoted verbatim. LactMed is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), via NCBI Bookshelf, record “Betamethasone” (LM31), bulk release of 22 September 2026. LactMed on NCBI Bookshelf. Public domain; quoted verbatim. LactMed is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Sources checked 26 September 2026. How we source and check every page.
Educational summary of named sources, not medical advice.