Can I take carvedilol while pregnant or breastfeeding?
A plain-words look at what the NHS, the US drug label and LactMed say about carvedilol.
In short
Pregnancy: Carvedilol is not usually recommended in pregnancy, as there are similar medicines with more safety information.
Breastfeeding: It's OK to take carvedilol while breastfeeding, provided your doctor, midwife or health visitor is happy that your baby is healthy.
Your doctor, midwife or pharmacist can help you decide.
What this means for you
Pregnancy
- If you're trying for a baby or are already pregnant, ask your doctor whether you should switch to a different medicine, such as labetalol or nifedipine.
Breastfeeding
- Nobody knows exactly how much carvedilol reaches breast milk, but the levels are likely to be low, and your baby will not be able to absorb much of it from the milk.
- It's unlikely to cause side effects in your baby.
- Carrying on with carvedilol is important to keep you well, and breastfeeding also has benefits for both you and your baby.
- This includes if your baby: is not feeding as well as they usually do or not gaining weight as you'd expect; has diarrhoea or is vomiting; looks paler than usual; is irritable; or is unusually sleepy.
When to get help
- As a precaution, if you have any worries about your baby, call 111 (in the UK) or contact your health visitor, midwife, doctor or pharmacist 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
Carvedilol in pregnancy
The NHS says
Carvedilol is not usually recommended in pregnancy, as there are similar medicines with more safety information.
If you're trying for a baby or are already pregnant, ask your doctor whether you should switch to a different medicine, such as labetalol or nifedipine.
In our words, from the NHS page Carvedilol (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 Available data regarding use of carvedilol in pregnant women are insufficient to determine whether there are drug-associated risks of adverse developmental outcomes. There are risks to the mother and fetus associated with poorly controlled hypertension in pregnancy. The use of beta blockers during the third trimester of pregnancy may increase the risk of hypotension, bradycardia, hypoglycemia, and respiratory depression in the neonate [see Clinical Considerations] . In animal reproduction studies, there was no evidence of adverse developmental outcomes at clinically relevant doses [see Data] . Oral administration of carvedilol to pregnant rats during organogenesis resulted in post-implantation loss, decreased fetal body weight, and an increased frequency of delayed fetal skeletal development at maternally toxic doses that were 50 times the maximum recommended human dose (MRHD). In addition, oral administration of carvedilol to pregnant rabbits during organogenesis resulted in increased post-implantation loss at doses 25 times the MRHD [see Data].
Prescribing label, section “8.1 Pregnancy” (opening excerpt): Carvedilol (oral), St. Mary's Medical Park Pharmacy. Read the full section on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.
Carvedilol while breastfeeding
The NHS says
It's OK to take carvedilol while breastfeeding, provided your doctor, midwife or health visitor is happy that your baby is healthy.
Nobody knows exactly how much carvedilol reaches breast milk, but the levels are likely to be low, and your baby will not be able to absorb much of it from the milk. It's unlikely to cause side effects in your baby.
Carrying on with carvedilol is important to keep you well, and breastfeeding also has benefits for both you and your baby.
As a precaution, if you have any worries about your baby, call 111 (in the UK) or contact your health visitor, midwife, doctor or pharmacist promptly. This includes if your baby: is not feeding as well as they usually do or not gaining weight as you'd expect; has diarrhoea or is vomiting; looks paler than usual; is irritable; or is unusually sleepy.
In our words, from the NHS page Carvedilol (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 published information is available on the use of carvedilol during breastfeeding. Based on its physicochemical properties, carvedilol appears to present a low-risk to the breastfed infant. Because there is no published experience with carvedilol during breastfeeding, other agents may be preferred, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant.
“Summary of Use during Lactation”, LactMed record “Carvedilol” (LM286), quoted verbatim. Everything LactMed reports about Carvedilol while breastfeeding.
The US prescribing label says
8.2 Lactation Risk Summary There are no data on the presence of carvedilol in human milk, the effects on the breastfed infant, or the effects on milk production. Carvedilol is present in the milk of lactating rats. The developmental and health benefits of breastfeeding should be considered along with the mother's clinical need for carvedilol and any potential adverse effects on the breastfed infant from carvedilol or from the underlying maternal condition.
Prescribing label, section “8.2 Lactation”: Carvedilol (oral), St. Mary's Medical Park Pharmacy. Label on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.
Sources
- NHS, Carvedilol (nhs.uk), page last reviewed 5 July 2024. Paraphrased. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- US drug label: Carvedilol (oral), St. Mary's Medical Park Pharmacy, human prescription drug, label effective 26 August 2026, set ID 8a82149f-aade-2a9b-e053-2995a90a9daf. 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 “Carvedilol” (LM286), 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.