Can I take brinzolamide while pregnant or breastfeeding?
A plain-words look at what the NHS, the US drug label and LactMed say about brinzolamide.
In short
Pregnancy: It's essential to treat glaucoma or high pressure in the eye, so it's important to carry on using brinzolamide while you're pregnant.
Breastfeeding: You can use brinzolamide while breastfeeding.
Your doctor, midwife or pharmacist can help you decide.
What this means for you
Pregnancy
- Because brinzolamide goes into the eye, very little reaches your blood or your baby.
- The small amount that might reach your baby is unlikely to harm them.
Breastfeeding
- It's essential to treat glaucoma or high pressure in the eye, so it's important to keep up your brinzolamide treatment during breastfeeding.
- The eye drops are not thought to get into breast milk or to cause side effects in breastfed babies.
- Some medicines containing brinzolamide also contain other ingredients, so if you're breastfeeding, ask a pharmacist or doctor before using them.
- As soon as you can, get in touch with your midwife, health visitor or doctor if your baby is feeding less well than normal, or if anything else about your baby worries you.
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
Brinzolamide in pregnancy
The NHS says
It's essential to treat glaucoma or high pressure in the eye, so it's important to carry on using brinzolamide while you're pregnant.
Because brinzolamide goes into the eye, very little reaches your blood or your baby. The small amount that might reach your baby is unlikely to harm them.
In our words, from the NHS page Brinzolamide (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 adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women to inform drug-associated risk. In reproductive toxicity studies, brinzolamide administered orally to rats induced fetal toxicity at 375-times the recommended human ophthalmic dose (RHOD) based on mg/kg. In rabbits, no fetal toxicity was observed following oral administration (see Data) . The background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage for the indicated population is unknown; however, in the U.S. general population, the estimated background risk of major birth defects is 2% to 4%, and of miscarriage is 15% to 20%, of clinically recognized pregnancies.
Prescribing label, section “8.1 Pregnancy” (opening excerpt): BRINZOLAMIDE (ophthalmic), Oceanside Pharmaceuticals. Read the full section on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.
This quote is from the ophthalmic formulation label.
Brinzolamide while breastfeeding
The NHS says
You can use brinzolamide while breastfeeding.
It's essential to treat glaucoma or high pressure in the eye, so it's important to keep up your brinzolamide treatment during breastfeeding.
The eye drops are not thought to get into breast milk or to cause side effects in breastfed babies.
Some medicines containing brinzolamide also contain other ingredients, so if you're breastfeeding, ask a pharmacist or doctor before using them.
As soon as you can, get in touch with your midwife, health visitor or doctor if your baby is feeding less well than normal, or if anything else about your baby worries you.
In our words, from the NHS page Brinzolamide (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
No information is available on the use of brinzolamide ophthalmic drops during breastfeeding. French guidelines recommend ophthalmic carbonic anhydrase inhibitor drops such as brinzolamide as a preferred therapy for glaucoma during breastfeeding.[1] To substantially diminish the amount of drug that reaches the breastmilk after using eye drops, place pressure over the tear duct by the corner of the eye for 1 minute or more, then remove the excess solution with an absorbent tissue.
“Summary of Use during Lactation”, LactMed record “Brinzolamide” (LM776), quoted verbatim. Everything LactMed reports about Brinzolamide while breastfeeding.
The US prescribing label says
8.2 Lactation Risk Summary There are no data on the presence of brinzolamide in human milk, the effects on the breastfed infant, or the effects on milk production. Brinzolamide has been detected in the milk of lactating rats. The development and health benefits of breastfeeding should be considered along with the mother’s clinical need for brinzolamide ophthalmic suspension and any potential adverse effects on the breast-fed child from brinzolamide ophthalmic suspension.
Prescribing label, section “8.2 Lactation”: BRINZOLAMIDE (ophthalmic), Oceanside Pharmaceuticals. Label on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.
This quote is from the ophthalmic formulation label.
Other names
UK brand names (per the NHS): Azopt.
Sources
- NHS, Brinzolamide (nhs.uk), page last reviewed 20 September 2024. Paraphrased. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- US drug label: BRINZOLAMIDE (ophthalmic), Oceanside Pharmaceuticals., human prescription drug, label effective 20 April 2026, set ID fb7229d4-522e-4cb2-b513-9d34f3ded591. 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 “Brinzolamide” (LM776), 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.