Can I take peppermint oil while pregnant or breastfeeding?
A plain-words look at what the NHS, the US drug label and LactMed say about peppermint oil.
In short
Pregnancy: There is not much information about peppermint oil in pregnancy, but it is not expected to cause any problems.
Breastfeeding: Peppermint oil can be taken while breastfeeding if you need it, as long as your baby is healthy.
Your doctor, midwife or pharmacist can help you decide.
What this means for you
Breastfeeding
- Information on peppermint oil in breastfeeding is limited, but only tiny amounts are likely to reach breast milk.
- It's unlikely to cause side effects in 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.
- Carry on breastfeeding as normal until you've had advice about your baby's symptoms.
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, shows any unusual symptoms, or if anything about them 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
Peppermint oil in pregnancy
The NHS says
There is not much information about peppermint oil in pregnancy, but it is not expected to cause any problems.
In our words, from the NHS page Peppermint oil (nhs.uk). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL v3.0). The NHS does not endorse this site.
Peppermint oil while breastfeeding
The NHS says
Peppermint oil can be taken while breastfeeding if you need it, as long as your baby is healthy.
Information on peppermint oil in breastfeeding is limited, but only tiny amounts are likely to reach breast milk. It's unlikely to cause side effects in 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 not feeding as well as they usually do, shows any unusual symptoms, or if anything about them worries you.
Carry on breastfeeding as normal until you've had advice about your baby's symptoms.
In our words, from the NHS page Peppermint oil (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
Peppermint (Mentha x piperita) contains menthol, menthone, menthyl acetate as major ingredients. Minor ingredients include 1,8-cineole (eucalyptol), pulegone, caffeic acid, flavonoids, tannins, and bitter substances. Topical peppermint gel and solutions have been studied for the prevention of pain and cracked nipples and areolas in nursing women. The peppermint preparations were more effective than placebo and expressed breastmilk, and about as effective as lanolin in most,[1–7] but not all studies.[8] A meta-analysis of controlled trials concluded peppermint was significantly reduced nipple trauma in lactating mothers.[6] Some mothers in Türkiye reportedly use mint to increase their milk supply and improve the taste and quality of their milk.[9,10] However, peppermint is also used to suppress milk production, which has been demonstrated in vitro and in animals with high doses.[11,12] Menthol and 1,8-cineol are excreted into breastmilk in small quantities; the excretion of other components has not been studied. Peppermint is “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) as a food by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Large doses can cause heartburn, nausea and vomiting. Allergic reactions, including headaches, have been reported to menthol. If peppermint is used on the nipples, it should be used after nursing and wiped off before the next nursing.
Dietary supplements do not require extensive pre-marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Manufacturers are responsible to ensure the safety, but do not need to prove the safety and effectiveness of dietary supplements before they are marketed. Dietary supplements may contain multiple ingredients, and differences are often found between labeled and actual ingredients or their amounts. A manufacturer may contract with an independent organization to verify the quality of a product or its ingredients, but that does not certify the safety or effectiveness of a product. Because of the above issues, clinical testing results on one product may not be applicable to other products. More detailed information about dietary supplements is available elsewhere on the LactMed Web site.
“Summary of Use during Lactation”, LactMed record “Peppermint” (LM935), quoted verbatim. Everything LactMed reports about Peppermint while breastfeeding.
Other names
UK brand names (per the NHS): Apercap, Colomint, Colpermin, Mintec, PepperMinn, ColoPep.
Sources
- NHS, Peppermint oil (nhs.uk), page last reviewed 25 March 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 “Peppermint” (LM935), 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.