Can I take clopidogrel while pregnant or breastfeeding?
A plain-words look at what the NHS, the US drug label and LactMed say about clopidogrel.
In short
Pregnancy: Clopidogrel is not often recommended in pregnancy, but it can be taken if needed.
Breastfeeding: You may be able to take clopidogrel while breastfeeding if you need it and your baby is healthy. Your doctor or pharmacist can help you make the decision, so speak to them first.
Your doctor, midwife or pharmacist can help you decide.
What this means for you
Pregnancy
- There is not much information about clopidogrel in pregnancy, but it is not thought to harm your baby.
- Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of taking clopidogrel.
- Whether you should carry on depends on why you take it: for some women it's essential to keep taking it through pregnancy, while for others a different treatment may be more suitable.
- Do not stop taking clopidogrel unless your doctor has told you to.
Breastfeeding
- You may be able to take clopidogrel while breastfeeding if you need it and your baby is healthy.
- Your doctor or pharmacist can help you make the decision, so speak to them first.
- Nobody knows exactly how much clopidogrel 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 has not been known to cause side effects in breastfed babies.
- Side effects in breastfed babies from medicines their mother takes are very rare.
- Even so, it's important to keep an eye on your baby while you take any medicine and breastfeed.
- Until you've had advice about your baby's symptoms, keep taking clopidogrel and carry on breastfeeding as normal.
When to get help
- Contact a healthcare professional or call 111 (in the UK) as soon as you can if your baby is not feeding as well as they usually do, bruises or bleeds easily, has diarrhoea, or is irritable.
- If your baby has any other symptoms, or you're worried about them, you can still call 111 or get in touch with any healthcare professional.
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
Clopidogrel in pregnancy
The NHS says
Clopidogrel is not often recommended in pregnancy, but it can be taken if needed.
There is not much information about clopidogrel in pregnancy, but it is not thought to harm your baby.
Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of taking clopidogrel. Whether you should carry on depends on why you take it: for some women it's essential to keep taking it through pregnancy, while for others a different treatment may be more suitable.
Do not stop taking clopidogrel unless your doctor has told you to.
In our words, from the NHS page Clopidogrel (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 Teratogenic Effects Pregnancy Category B Reproduction studies performed in rats and rabbits at doses up to 500 and 300 mg/kg/day, respectively (65 and 78 times the recommended daily human dose, respectively, on a mg/m 2 basis), revealed no evidence of impaired fertility or fetotoxicity due to clopidogrel. There are, however, no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Because animal reproduction studies are not always predictive of a human response, clopidogrel bisulfate should be used during pregnancy only if clearly needed.
Prescribing label, section “8.1 Pregnancy”: Clopidogrel (oral), NuCare Pharmaceuticals,Inc. Label on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.
Clopidogrel while breastfeeding
The NHS says
You may be able to take clopidogrel while breastfeeding if you need it and your baby is healthy. Your doctor or pharmacist can help you make the decision, so speak to them first.
Nobody knows exactly how much clopidogrel 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 has not been known to cause side effects in breastfed babies.
Side effects in breastfed babies from medicines their mother takes are very rare. Even so, it's important to keep an eye on your baby while you take any medicine and breastfeed.
Contact a healthcare professional or call 111 (in the UK) as soon as you can if your baby is not feeding as well as they usually do, bruises or bleeds easily, has diarrhoea, or is irritable.
If your baby has any other symptoms, or you're worried about them, you can still call 111 or get in touch with any healthcare professional.
Until you've had advice about your baby's symptoms, keep taking clopidogrel and carry on breastfeeding as normal.
In our words, from the NHS page Clopidogrel (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
Information from two mothers indicates that minute quantities of clopidogrel and its metabolites are excreted into milk and one breastfed infant had trivial serum levels. Two mothers and the manufacturer reported that no adverse effects have been observed in breastfed infants with maternal clopidogrel use during lactation in two cases. If a mother requires clopidogrel, it is not a reason to discontinue breastfeeding, but monitor the infant for bruising or bleeding.
“Summary of Use during Lactation”, LactMed record “Clopidogrel” (LM1448), quoted verbatim. Everything LactMed reports about Clopidogrel while breastfeeding.
What these words mean
- metabolite
- a substance made when the body breaks down a medicine
Definitions adapted from the NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms (National Cancer Institute).
The US prescribing label says
Nursing Mothers Studies in rats have shown that clopidogrel and/or its metabolites are excreted in the milk. It is not known whether this drug is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk and because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants from clopidogrel, 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.
Prescribing label, section “Nursing Mothers”: Clopidogrel (oral), NuCare Pharmaceuticals,Inc. Label on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.
Other names
UK brand names (per the NHS): Grepid, Plavix.
Sources
- NHS, Clopidogrel (nhs.uk), page last reviewed 12 March 2025. Paraphrased. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- US drug label: Clopidogrel (oral), NuCare Pharmaceuticals,Inc., human prescription drug, label effective 25 February 2026, set ID 553b4938-4462-4aeb-e054-00144ff88e88. 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 “Clopidogrel” (LM1448), 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.