Can I take chloramphenicol while pregnant or breastfeeding?
A plain-words look at what the NHS, the US drug label and LactMed say about chloramphenicol.
In short
Pregnancy: You can use chloramphenicol eye treatments and ear drops in pregnancy.
Breastfeeding: If your baby is healthy, you can use chloramphenicol eye treatments and ear drops while breastfeeding, although other medicines might be better. Speak to your doctor or pharmacist first. It's better to use chloramphenicol for a short time only.
Your doctor, midwife or pharmacist can help you decide.
What this means for you
Pregnancy
- Only tiny amounts get absorbed into your blood, and these are not thought to harm your baby.
- Speak with your doctor or pharmacist about which treatment is best for you.
- That depends on how severe the infection is and whether other medicines might suit you better.
Breastfeeding
- If your baby is healthy, you can use chloramphenicol eye treatments and ear drops while breastfeeding, although other medicines might be better.
- Speak to your doctor or pharmacist first.
- It's better to use chloramphenicol for a short time only.
- You may be advised not to use chloramphenicol if anyone in your family has had a blood disorder of any kind, including aplastic anaemia.
- How much chloramphenicol reaches breast milk from eye and ear treatments is not yet known, but it's probably very little.
- These levels are thought to be too low to give your baby side effects.
- Wash your hands well after using these treatments and before you pick up your baby.
- It's important to keep an eye on your baby whenever you take a medicine while breastfeeding.
When to get help
- Contact a healthcare professional or call 111 (NHS 111 in the UK) as soon as you can if your baby is feeding less well than normal, has diarrhoea or is vomiting (being sick), has a rash or seems to bruise easily, or seems unusually pale or tired.
- For symptoms not mentioned here, or if you're worried about your baby, you can also speak to any healthcare professional or call 111.
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
Chloramphenicol in pregnancy
The NHS says
You can use chloramphenicol eye treatments and ear drops in pregnancy.
Only tiny amounts get absorbed into your blood, and these are not thought to harm your baby.
Speak with your doctor or pharmacist about which treatment is best for you. That depends on how severe the infection is and whether other medicines might suit you better.
In our words, from the NHS page Chloramphenicol (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
Pregnancy Pregnancy Category C – Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with chloramphenicol. There are no adequate and well-controlled studies to establish safety of this drug in pregnancy. It is not known whether chloramphenicol can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. Orally administered chloramphenicol has been shown to cross the placental barrier. Because of potential toxic effects on the fetus (see ADVERSE REACTIONS, “Gray Syndrome” ), chloramphenicol should be given to a pregnant woman only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.
Prescribing label, section “Pregnancy”: Chloramphenicol Sodium Succinate (intravenous), Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC. Label on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.
This quote is from the intravenous formulation label.
More on chloramphenicol in pregnancy: Bumps (Best Use of Medicines in Pregnancy) leaflet (external site).
Chloramphenicol while breastfeeding
The NHS says
If your baby is healthy, you can use chloramphenicol eye treatments and ear drops while breastfeeding, although other medicines might be better. Speak to your doctor or pharmacist first. It's better to use chloramphenicol for a short time only.
You may be advised not to use chloramphenicol if anyone in your family has had a blood disorder of any kind, including aplastic anaemia.
How much chloramphenicol reaches breast milk from eye and ear treatments is not yet known, but it's probably very little. These levels are thought to be too low to give your baby side effects.
Wash your hands well after using these treatments and before you pick up your baby.
It's important to keep an eye on your baby whenever you take a medicine while breastfeeding.
Contact a healthcare professional or call 111 (NHS 111 in the UK) as soon as you can if your baby is feeding less well than normal, has diarrhoea or is vomiting (being sick), has a rash or seems to bruise easily, or seems unusually pale or tired.
For symptoms not mentioned here, or if you're worried about your baby, you can also speak to any healthcare professional or call 111.
In our words, from the NHS page Chloramphenicol (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
Adverse reactions such as vomiting, excessive intestinal gas and falling asleep at the breast have been reported in breastfed infants whose mothers were taking oral chloramphenicol. Milk concentrations are not sufficient to induce "gray baby" syndrome, but since chloramphenicol-induced aplastic anemia is not dose-related, this might occur, but has not been reported. An alternate drug is preferred to chloramphenicol during breastfeeding, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant. If the mother must receive chloramphenicol during nursing, monitor the infant for gastrointestinal disturbances and adequacy of nursing. Monitoring of the infant's complete blood count and differential is advisable. In some cases, discontinuation of breastfeeding might be preferred.
“Summary of Use during Lactation”, LactMed record “Chloramphenicol” (LM606), quoted verbatim. Everything LactMed reports about Chloramphenicol while breastfeeding.
The US prescribing label says
Nursing Mothers Chloramphenicol is excreted in human milk following oral administration of the drug. Because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants from chloramphenicol, a decision should be made whether to discontinue nursing or to discontinue the drug, taking into account the importance of the drug to the mother (see ADVERSE REACTIONS, “Gray Syndrome” ).
Prescribing label, section “Nursing Mothers”: Chloramphenicol Sodium Succinate (intravenous), Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC. Label on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.
This quote is from the intravenous formulation label.
Other names
UK brand names (per the NHS): Optrex.
Sources
- NHS, Chloramphenicol (nhs.uk), page last reviewed 30 January 2026. Paraphrased. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- US drug label: Chloramphenicol Sodium Succinate (intravenous), Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC, human prescription drug, label effective 10 October 2024, set ID aed29594-211d-49ef-813f-131975a8d0e3. 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 “Chloramphenicol” (LM606), 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.
- Bumps (Best Use of Medicines in Pregnancy), UK Teratology Information Service: Bumps (Best Use of Medicines in Pregnancy) leaflet. Linked, not reproduced.
Sources checked 26 September 2026. How we source and check every page.
Educational summary of named sources, not medical advice.