Can I take empagliflozin while pregnant or breastfeeding?
A plain-words look at what the NHS, the US drug label and LactMed say about empagliflozin.
In short
Pregnancy: Empagliflozin is not recommended in pregnancy, because little is known about whether it could affect the baby.
Breastfeeding: Empagliflozin is not usually recommended during breastfeeding, as the amount that reaches breast milk is not known, although it's probably small.
Your doctor, midwife or pharmacist can help you decide.
What this means for you
Pregnancy
- Other diabetes medicines, such as insulin and metformin, are safe to take while pregnant.
- If you take empagliflozin and you're pregnant or planning to be, speak to your doctor, who will need to look again at your treatment and may suggest another medicine that is more suitable in pregnancy.
Breastfeeding
- Empagliflozin could possibly lower your baby's blood sugar and could affect how their kidneys grow and develop, although this has not been proven.
- Ask your doctor what would be best for you and your baby, as your treatment will need to be looked at again.
- They may be able to offer another medicine, especially if you're feeding a newborn or premature baby.
- If your doctor agrees you can take empagliflozin while breastfeeding, get in touch as soon as you can with your health visitor, midwife, doctor or pharmacist if anything worries you, including if your baby is feeding less well than normal, is sleepier or more drowsy, is more restless or irritable, seems hungrier or thirstier, or is peeing more than normal.
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
Empagliflozin in pregnancy
The NHS says
Empagliflozin is not recommended in pregnancy, because little is known about whether it could affect the baby. Other diabetes medicines, such as insulin and metformin, are safe to take while pregnant.
If you take empagliflozin and you're pregnant or planning to be, speak to your doctor, who will need to look again at your treatment and may suggest another medicine that is more suitable in pregnancy.
In our words, from the NHS page Empagliflozin (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 Based on animal data showing adverse renal effects, JARDIANCE is not recommended during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The limited available data with JARDIANCE in pregnant women are not sufficient to determine a drug-associated risk for major birth defects and miscarriage.
Prescribing label, section “8.1 Pregnancy” (opening excerpt): Jardiance (oral), Redpharm Drug. Read the full section on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.
Empagliflozin while breastfeeding
The NHS says
Empagliflozin is not usually recommended during breastfeeding, as the amount that reaches breast milk is not known, although it's probably small.
Empagliflozin could possibly lower your baby's blood sugar and could affect how their kidneys grow and develop, although this has not been proven.
Ask your doctor what would be best for you and your baby, as your treatment will need to be looked at again. They may be able to offer another medicine, especially if you're feeding a newborn or premature baby.
If your doctor agrees you can take empagliflozin while breastfeeding, get in touch as soon as you can with your health visitor, midwife, doctor or pharmacist if anything worries you, including if your baby is feeding less well than normal, is sleepier or more drowsy, is more restless or irritable, seems hungrier or thirstier, or is peeing more than normal.
In our words, from the NHS page Empagliflozin (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
Little information is available on the clinical use of empagliflozin during breastfeeding. Empagliflozin is an uncharged molecule that is 86% protein bound in plasma, so it is unlikely to pass into breastmilk in clinically important amounts. The manufacturer does not recommend empagliflozin during breastfeeding because of a theoretical risk to the infant's developing kidney. An alternate drug may be preferred, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant.
“Summary of Use during Lactation”, LactMed record “Empagliflozin” (LM1376), quoted verbatim. Everything LactMed reports about Empagliflozin while breastfeeding.
The US prescribing label says
8.2 Lactation Risk Summary There is limited information regarding the presence of JARDIANCE in human milk, the effects of JARDIANCE on the breastfed infant or the effects on milk production. Empagliflozin is present in the milk of lactating rats [see Data ] . Since human kidney maturation occurs in utero and during the first 2 years of life when lactational exposure may occur, there may be risk to the developing human kidney. Because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in a breastfed infant, including the potential for empagliflozin to affect postnatal renal development, advise patients that use of JARDIANCE is not recommended while breastfeeding. Data Empagliflozin was present at a low level in rat fetal tissues after a single oral dose to the dams at gestation day 18. In rat milk, the mean milk to plasma ratio ranged from 0.634 to 5, and was greater than one from 2 to 24 hours post-dose. The mean maximal milk to plasma ratio of 5 occurred at 8 hours post-dose, suggesting accumulation of empagliflozin in the milk. Juvenile rats directly exposed to empagliflozin showed a risk to the developing kidney (renal pelvic and tubular dilatations) during maturation.
Prescribing label, section “8.2 Lactation”: Jardiance (oral), Redpharm Drug. Label on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.
Other names
UK brand names (per the NHS): Jardiance.
Sources
- NHS, Empagliflozin (nhs.uk), page last reviewed 2 February 2023. Paraphrased. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- US drug label: Jardiance (oral), Redpharm Drug, human prescription drug, label effective 26 August 2026, set ID 59ed43d9-b4e0-72a2-e063-6394a90a327d. 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 “Empagliflozin” (LM1376), 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.