Can I take nortriptyline while pregnant or breastfeeding?
A plain-words look at what the NHS, the US drug label and LactMed say about nortriptyline.
In short
Pregnancy: You may be advised to keep taking nortriptyline during pregnancy, particularly if you take it for depression.
Breastfeeding: If your baby is healthy, you can take nortriptyline while breastfeeding. Always check with a doctor or pharmacist first.
Your doctor, midwife or pharmacist can help you decide.
What this means for you
Pregnancy
- If you become pregnant while on nortriptyline, speak to your doctor.
- Do not stop taking it unless your doctor tells you to.
- Your doctor can explain the risks and benefits of nortriptyline and will help you pick the best treatment for you and your baby.
Breastfeeding
- If your baby is healthy, you can take nortriptyline while breastfeeding.
- Always check with a doctor or pharmacist first.
- Very small amounts of nortriptyline get into breast milk.
- It has not been known to cause side effects in breastfed babies.
- If nortriptyline is treating your depression, it's important to keep taking it so you stay well.
- Breastfeeding also has benefits for both you and your baby.
- 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 nortriptyline and carry on breastfeeding as normal.
- Because nortriptyline can make you drowsy, it's important that you do not sleep in the same bed as your baby while you take it.
- This is to lower the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
- If your baby is not feeding as well as they usually do, seems unusually sleepy, or you're worried about your baby in any other way, speak to your health visitor or doctor as soon as you can.
When to get help
- Contact a healthcare professional or call 111 (in the UK) as soon as you can if your baby is sleepier than usual; is not feeding normally or not waking for feeds; is not gaining weight as they should; is irritable; or is constipated or peeing less.
- 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
Nortriptyline in pregnancy
The NHS says
You may be advised to keep taking nortriptyline during pregnancy, particularly if you take it for depression.
If you become pregnant while on nortriptyline, speak to your doctor. Do not stop taking it unless your doctor tells you to.
Your doctor can explain the risks and benefits of nortriptyline and will help you pick the best treatment for you and your baby.
In our words, from the NHS page Nortriptyline (nhs.uk). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL v3.0). The NHS does not endorse this site.
Nortriptyline while breastfeeding
The NHS says
If your baby is healthy, you can take nortriptyline while breastfeeding. Always check with a doctor or pharmacist first.
Very small amounts of nortriptyline get into breast milk. It has not been known to cause side effects in breastfed babies.
If nortriptyline is treating your depression, it's important to keep taking it so you stay well. Breastfeeding also has benefits for both you and your baby.
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 sleepier than usual; is not feeding normally or not waking for feeds; is not gaining weight as they should; is irritable; or is constipated or peeing less.
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 nortriptyline and carry on breastfeeding as normal.
Because nortriptyline can make you drowsy, it's important that you do not sleep in the same bed as your baby while you take it. This is to lower the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
If your baby is not feeding as well as they usually do, seems unusually sleepy, or you're worried about your baby in any other way, speak to your health visitor or doctor as soon as you can.
In our words, from the NHS page Nortriptyline (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 the low levels of nortriptyline in breastmilk, amounts ingested by the infant are small and usually not been detected in the serum of the infant, although the less active metabolites are often detectable in low levels in infant serum. Immediate side effects have not been reported and a limited amount of follow-up has found no adverse effects on infant growth and development. A safety scoring system finds nortriptyline use to be possible with caution during breastfeeding.[1] Most authoritative reviewers consider nortriptyline one of the preferred antidepressants during breastfeeding.[2-4]
“Summary of Use during Lactation”, LactMed record “Nortriptyline” (LM314), quoted verbatim. Everything LactMed reports about Nortriptyline while breastfeeding.
Sources
- NHS, Nortriptyline (nhs.uk), page last reviewed 2 April 2025. 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 “Nortriptyline” (LM314), 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.