Can I take loratadine while pregnant or breastfeeding?
A plain-words look at what the NHS, the US drug label and LactMed say about loratadine.
In short
Pregnancy: Loratadine can be taken while you're pregnant.
Breastfeeding: If you're breastfeeding and need an antihistamine, loratadine is one of the best options.
Your doctor, midwife or pharmacist can help you decide.
What this means for you
Breastfeeding
- Some information shows that only very small amounts of loratadine reach breast milk.
- It has been widely used by breastfeeding mothers for many years without causing side effects in their 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 loratadine 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, or seems unusually sleepy or 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
Loratadine in pregnancy
The NHS says
Loratadine can be taken while you're pregnant.
In our words, from the NHS page Loratadine (Clarityn) (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 Facts label says
If pregnant or breast feeding, ask a health professional before use.
Drug Facts label: childrens allergy relief (oral), Rite Aid Corporation. Label on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.
Loratadine while breastfeeding
The NHS says
If you're breastfeeding and need an antihistamine, loratadine is one of the best options.
Some information shows that only very small amounts of loratadine reach breast milk. It has been widely used by breastfeeding mothers for many years without causing side effects in their 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, or seems unusually sleepy or 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 loratadine and carry on breastfeeding as normal.
In our words, from the NHS page Loratadine (Clarityn) (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
Because of its lack of sedation and low milk levels, maternal use of loratadine would not be expected to cause any adverse effects in breastfed infants. Loratadine might have a negative effect on lactation, especially in combination with a sympathomimetic agent such as pseudoephedrine. The British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology recommends loratadine at its lowest dose as a preferred choice if an antihistamine is required during breastfeeding.[1]
“Summary of Use during Lactation”, LactMed record “Loratadine” (LM163), quoted verbatim. Everything LactMed reports about Loratadine while breastfeeding.
Other names
UK brand names (per the NHS): Clarityn.
Sources
- NHS, Loratadine (Clarityn) (nhs.uk), page last reviewed 22 April 2025. Paraphrased. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- US drug label: childrens allergy relief (oral), Rite Aid Corporation, human otc drug, label effective 4 September 2026, set ID 539336e6-7979-47ed-b1ea-fd46ef547aee. 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 “Loratadine” (LM163), 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.