Can I take sotalol while pregnant or breastfeeding?
A plain-words look at what the NHS, the US drug label and LactMed say about sotalol.
In short
Pregnancy: You can take sotalol in pregnancy, especially if you have heart problems.
Breastfeeding: You may be able to take sotalol while breastfeeding if you need to and your baby is healthy. Speak to your doctor or pharmacist first, and they will help you decide.
Your doctor, midwife or pharmacist can help you decide.
What this means for you
Pregnancy
- But always check that your doctor is happy for you to carry on taking it.
- They may want to review your medicine and may suggest other medicines instead.
- If you take sotalol while pregnant, you may need extra scans to check your baby is growing at a normal rate.
Breastfeeding
- You may be able to take sotalol while breastfeeding if you need to and your baby is healthy.
- Speak to your doctor or pharmacist first, and they will help you decide.
- Information about sotalol and breastfeeding is limited, but it shows that sotalol can reach breast milk in fairly high amounts compared with most medicines.
- This may make side effects in your baby more likely.
- However, based on the information available, sotalol is not known to have caused side effects in breastfed babies.
- Carrying on with sotalol is important to keep you well, and breastfeeding also benefits both you and your baby.
- Side effects in breastfed babies from medicines their mother takes are very rare, but it's important to keep an eye on your baby whenever you take a medicine while breastfeeding.
- 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 (NHS 111 in the UK) as soon as you can if your baby is feeding less well than normal or not gaining weight as you'd expect, has diarrhoea or is vomiting (being sick), looks paler than normal, gets a rash, is acting differently from normal (for example, irritable), or is unusually sleepy.
- For symptoms not mentioned here, or if you're worried about your baby, you can also speak to any healthcare professional or call 111.
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
Sotalol in pregnancy
The NHS says
You can take sotalol in pregnancy, especially if you have heart problems.
But always check that your doctor is happy for you to carry on taking it. They may want to review your medicine and may suggest other medicines instead.
If you take sotalol while pregnant, you may need extra scans to check your baby is growing at a normal rate.
In our words, from the NHS page Sotalol (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 label says
8.1 Pregnancy Risk Summary Both the untreated underlying condition in pregnancy and the use of sotalol in pregnancy cause adverse outcomes to the mother and fetus/neonate (see Clinical Considerations) . In animal reproduction studies in rats, early resorptions were increased at 15 times the maximum recommended human dose (MRHD). In rabbits an increase in fetal death was observed at 2 times the MRHD administered as a single dose. Sotalol did not reveal any teratogenic potential in rats or rabbits at 15 and 2 times the MRHD respectively (see Data) . All pregnancies have a background risk of birth defect, loss, or other adverse outcomes. The estimated background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage for the indicated population is unknown. In the United States (U.S.) general population, the estimated background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage in clinically recognized pregnancies is 2% to 4% and 15% to 20%, respectively.
Prescribing label, section “8.1 Pregnancy” (opening excerpt): Sotalol Hydrochloride (oral), A-S Medication Solutions. Read the full section on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.
Sotalol while breastfeeding
The NHS says
You may be able to take sotalol while breastfeeding if you need to and your baby is healthy. Speak to your doctor or pharmacist first, and they will help you decide.
Information about sotalol and breastfeeding is limited, but it shows that sotalol can reach breast milk in fairly high amounts compared with most medicines. This may make side effects in your baby more likely.
However, based on the information available, sotalol is not known to have caused side effects in breastfed babies.
Carrying on with sotalol is important to keep you well, and breastfeeding also benefits both you and your baby.
Side effects in breastfed babies from medicines their mother takes are very rare, but it's important to keep an eye on your baby whenever you take a medicine while breastfeeding.
Contact a healthcare professional or call 111 (NHS 111 in the UK) as soon as you can if your baby is feeding less well than normal or not gaining weight as you'd expect, has diarrhoea or is vomiting (being sick), looks paler than normal, gets a rash, is acting differently from normal (for example, irritable), or is unusually sleepy.
For symptoms not mentioned here, or if you're worried about your baby, you can also speak to any healthcare professional or call 111.
Carry on breastfeeding as normal until you've had advice about your baby's symptoms.
In our words, from the NHS page Sotalol (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 extensive excretion into breastmilk and its renal excretion, other beta-adrenergic blocking drugs are preferred to sotalol, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant. Some authors recommend using sotalol during breastfeeding only while monitoring the infant closely for signs of beta-blockade.[1] Infant exposure is predicted to less after the infant is 4 weeks of age or older.
“Summary of Use during Lactation”, LactMed record “Sotalol” (LM304), quoted verbatim. Everything LactMed reports about Sotalol while breastfeeding.
The US prescribing label says
8.2 Lactation Risk Summary Limited available data from published literature report that sotalol is present in human milk. The estimated daily infant dose of sotalol received from breastmilk is 0.8 to 3.4 mg/kg, estimated at 22 to 25.5% of the maternal weight-adjusted dosage of sotalol hydrochloride (see Data) . The amount of the drug in breast milk is similar to the neonatal therapeutic dosage. Therefore, there is potential for bradycardia and other symptoms of beta blockade such as dry mouth, skin or eyes, diarrhea or constipation in the breastfed infant. There is no information regarding the effects of sotalol on milk production. Because of the potential serious adverse reactions to the breastfed child and the high level of sotalol in breast milk, advise women not to breastfeed while on treatment with sotalol hydrochloride . Data Sotalol is present in human milk in high levels. A prospective study evaluated 20 paired samples of breast milk and maternal blood from 5 mothers who elected to breastfeed.
Prescribing label, section “8.2 Lactation” (opening excerpt): Sotalol Hydrochloride (oral), A-S Medication Solutions. Read the full section on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.
Sources
- NHS, Sotalol (nhs.uk), page last reviewed 5 August 2025. Paraphrased. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- US drug label: Sotalol Hydrochloride (oral), A-S Medication Solutions, human prescription drug, label effective 28 August 2026, set ID 7cb4879f-31e7-4862-bc0c-d439e592d81c. 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 “Sotalol” (LM304), 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.