👶 Parents Lab · Pharmacy-Reviewed
Medications in Pregnancy — What's Safe and What to Avoid
A pharmacy-trained guide to OTC medicines, supplements, and prescription medication safety across each trimester.
A pharmacy-trained guide to OTC medicines, supplements, and prescription medication safety across each trimester.
This page is for general awareness only. Medication decisions in pregnancy must always involve your midwife, GP, or obstetrician. What it is designed to do is give you enough information to ask the right questions.
The risk of leaving a condition untreated must be weighed against the potential risk of the medication. An untreated infection, uncontrolled blood pressure, or poorly managed mental health condition may pose a greater risk to mother and baby than the medication used to treat it.
Paracetamol: The analgesic of choice in pregnancy when used at the lowest effective dose for the shortest duration.
Penicillin-based antibiotics: Generally considered safe throughout pregnancy when prescribed for infection.
Vitamin D and folic acid: Recommended supplements. Folic acid (400mcg daily) from preconception through to 12 weeks.
Ibuprofen: Avoid in the third trimester. Associated with reduced amniotic fluid and kidney problems in the baby.
Codeine: Avoid in pregnancy, particularly near term. Associated with neonatal withdrawal and respiratory depression.
Disclose all medications — including over-the-counter medicines, herbal remedies, and supplements — to your midwife or obstetrician. Several herbal products are associated with uterine stimulation and should be avoided.
NHS Medicines in pregnancy · MHRA · RCOG · Reviewed April 2026.