Can I take ferrous fumarate while pregnant or breastfeeding?
A plain-words look at what the NHS, the US drug label and LactMed say about ferrous fumarate.
In short
Pregnancy: Ferrous fumarate can usually be taken in pregnancy, but ask a doctor first.
Breastfeeding: Ferrous fumarate can usually be taken during breastfeeding, but ask a pharmacist or doctor first.
Your doctor, midwife or pharmacist can help you decide.
What this means for you
Breastfeeding
- Side effects in breastfed babies from medicines their mother takes are rare, but talk to a healthcare professional if anything 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
Ferrous fumarate in pregnancy
The NHS says
Ferrous fumarate can usually be taken in pregnancy, but ask a doctor first.
In our words, from the NHS page Ferrous fumarate (nhs.uk). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL v3.0). The NHS does not endorse this site.
Ferrous fumarate while breastfeeding
The NHS says
Ferrous fumarate can usually be taken during breastfeeding, but ask a pharmacist or doctor first.
Side effects in breastfed babies from medicines their mother takes are rare, but talk to a healthcare professional if anything about your baby worries you.
In our words, from the NHS page Ferrous fumarate (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
Iron is a normal component in human milk. Daily oral iron intake from prenatal vitamins or other multimineral supplements does not affect milk iron levels. Higher daily oral iron dosing has a minimal effect on milk iron levels and is not expected to cause harm to the breastfed infant if needed to treat the mother’s anemia, but it is not an adequate substitute for direct infant iron supplementation to prevent or treat infant anemia.
“Summary of Use during Lactation”, LactMed record “Iron Salts” (iron_salts), quoted verbatim. Everything LactMed reports about Iron Salts while breastfeeding.
Other names
UK brand names (per the NHS): Galfer.
Indian combination brands that include ferrous fumarate: Livogen.
Sources
- NHS, Ferrous fumarate (nhs.uk), page last reviewed 13 March 2026. Paraphrased. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), via NCBI Bookshelf, record “Iron Salts” (iron_salts), 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.