Can I take povidone-iodine while pregnant or breastfeeding?

If pregnant or breast-feeding, ask a health professional before use. Keep out of reach of children. In case more than used for gargling is accidentally swallowed, getmedical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.

Drug Facts label: Betadine Gargle (oral), Atlantis Consumer Healthcare, Inc. Label on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.

Pregnancy: Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with BETADINE* 5% Sterile Ophthalmic Prep Solution. It is also not known whether BETADINE* 5% Sterile Ophthalmic Prep Solution can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman or can affect reproductive capacity. BETADINE* 5% Sterile Ophthalmic Prep Solution should only be used on a pregnant woman if clearly needed.

Prescribing label, section “Pregnancy”: Betadine (ophthalmic), Alcon Laboratories, Inc. Label on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.

This quote is from the ophthalmic formulation label.

The use of povidone-iodine in the mother near term and during breastfeeding increases breastmilk iodine levels and can cause transient hypothyroidism in breastfed infants, especially in geographic areas that are iodine deficient. Maternal exposure to povidone-iodine near term can sometimes interfere with thyroid studies done as a part of newborn screening tests. Although iodine from povidone-iodine is minimally absorbed through intact adult skin, exposure of mothers who are or will be breastfeeding to povidone-iodine should be minimized by using lower concentrations of povidone-iodine, applying it to the smallest possible surface areas of the body, shortening contact time, and avoiding repeated applications. If povidone iodine is removed from the abdomen with alcohol within several minutes after its application for cesarean section delivery, it is absorbed into the bloodstream and excreted in breastmilk, but may not affect neonatal urinary iodine, TSH or FT4 during the perinatal period.[1] Iodine absorption can be extensive with vaginal use; avoid douching with povidone iodine or use of iodine-containing tampons during breastfeeding. Iodine has not been measured in milk after the use of povidone-iodine nasal spray.

“Summary of Use during Lactation”, LactMed record “Povidone-Iodine” (LM479), quoted verbatim. Everything LactMed reports about Povidone-Iodine while breastfeeding.

Nursing Mothers: Because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants from BETADINE* 5% Sterile Ophthalmic Prep Solution, a decision should be made to discontinue nursing or discontinue the drug, taking into account the importance of the drug to the mother.

Prescribing label, section “Nursing Mothers”: Betadine (ophthalmic), Alcon Laboratories, Inc. Label on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.

This quote is from the ophthalmic formulation label.