Can you take desloratadine while breastfeeding?
What LactMed says
The National Library of Medicine’s own summary, quoted in full. We do not write a verdict of our own on this question, and we do not compress theirs into a label.
Because of its expected low milk levels and lack of sedation and anticholinergic effects, maternal use of desloratadine is unlikely to affect a breastfed infant or milk production. Desloratadine might have a negative effect on lactation in combination with a sympathomimetic agent such as pseudoephedrine.
Quoted from Desloratadine — Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed®), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, revised February 15, 2026.
What LactMed would consider instead
LactMed ends this record by naming the drugs it would consider in place of desloratadine. Whether any of them fits depends on what you are treating — this is the database’s list, not a recommendation from us.
How much desloratadine gets into breastmilk
Desloratadine is the active metabolite of loratadine and is marketed separately as a drug product.
Maternal Levels. Milk levels have not been measured after desloratadine administration. However, after a single oral dose of 40 mg of its parent compound loratadine in 6 women, average desloratadine peak milk levels of 16 mcg/L (range 9 to 29.6 mcg/L) were measured. The total amount excreted in milk over 48 hours was 6 mcg (range 3.7 to 11.6 mcg). However, the loratadine dose was 10 times the recommended dose of desloratadine of 5 mg, assuming 100% conversion of loratadine to desloratadine and adjusting for the differences in molecular weight. The calculated maximum expected doses of desloratadine in milk was 0.42% of the maternal weight-adjusted dose of loratadine after the 40 mg loratadine dose.
Infant Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
What has been seen in breastfed infants
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Effects on milk supply
Antihistamines in relatively high doses given by injection can decrease basal serum prolactin in nonlactating women and in early postpartum women. However, suckling-induced prolactin secretion is not affected by antihistamine pretreatment of postpartum mothers. Whether lower oral doses of antihistamines have the same effect on serum prolactin or whether the effects on prolactin have any consequences on breastfeeding success have not been studied. The prolactin level in a mother with established lactation may not affect her ability to breastfeed.
Frequently asked questions
Can you take desloratadine while breastfeeding?
What the NIH's Drugs and Lactation Database says about Desloratadine while breastfeeding — quoted in full. The full record is quoted on this page, and the decision is one to make with the person who prescribed it — LactMed itself states it is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What can I take instead of desloratadine while breastfeeding?
LactMed lists Cetirizine, Fexofenadine, Levocetirizine, Loratadine as alternate drugs to consider. That is the database's own list for this drug — whether any of them suits you depends on what you are treating.
Does desloratadine pass into breastmilk?
LactMed's measured drug levels for desloratadine are quoted in full on this page, under "How much gets into breastmilk".
Do I need to pump and dump after taking desloratadine?
LactMed does not frame its records that way — it reports measured drug levels in milk and what has been observed in breastfed infants, which is what this page quotes. "Pump and dump" advice for a specific drug and dose should come from your clinician or a pharmacist, not from a general rule.
More on desloratadine
LactMed states that the information it presents is not a substitute for professional judgement, and that you should consult your healthcare provider for breastfeeding advice related to your particular situation. Nothing on this page is medical advice.