Skip to content
ppharmaranks
Menu
CompaniesProductsDrug classesConditionsBest by conditionTreatmentsInteraction checkerFood & medicinesWhat pharmacies payPill identifierMedicines & breastfeedingChildren’s dosage chartsDo medicines expire?Crushing & splitting pillsDrug recallsSupplementsSafety & lawsuitsGuidesA–ZHow we rate

Is clindamycin safe during pregnancy?

Answered by MotherToBaby’s teratology specialists, quoted in full — including the questions most pages skip, like whether a father’s exposure matters.

By the pharmaranks editorial teamReviewed against the MotherToBaby fact sheet for clindamycin (OTIS, published via the NIH) sourcesUpdated Jul 21, 2026How we research

The questions people actually ask about clindamycin in pregnancy

Answered by MotherToBaby, the fact sheets written by the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists and published through the NIH. Quoted in full — we do not condense them.

I take clindamycin. Can it make it harder for me to get pregnant?

It is not known if clindamycin can make it harder to get pregnant.

Does taking clindamycin increase the chance for miscarriage?

Miscarriage is common and can occur in any pregnancy for many different reasons. One study involving 249 women who had a vaginal bacterial infection found that clindamycin treatment reduced the chances of late miscarriage.

Does taking clindamycin increase the chance of birth defects?

Every pregnancy starts out with about a 1 in 33 (3%) chance of having a birth defect. This is called the background chance. It is unlikely that using clindamycin increases the chance of birth defects. Several human studies as well as animal studies have not shown an increased chance of birth defects.

When clindamycin is used on the skin (topical use), only small amounts pass through skin and get into the bloodstream. This means a pregnancy would be exposed to only a very small amount of the medicine. Since available information about vaginal and oral clindamycin (both higher absorptions compared to topical use) does not find an increased chance of birth defects, it is also unlikely that using topical clindamycin increases the chance of birth defects.

Does taking clindamycin in pregnancy increase the chance of other pregnancy related problems?

Several studies have not found an increased chance of other pregnancy-related problems such as low birth weight (weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces [2500 grams] at birth). One study involving 249 women who had a vaginal bacterial infection found that clindamycin treatment reduced the chances of preterm delivery (birth before week 37).

Does taking clindamycin in pregnancy affect future behavior or learning for the child?

Studies have not been done to see if clindamycin can cause behavior or learning issues for the child.

If a male takes clindamycin, could it affect fertility or increase the chance of birth defects?

Studies have not been done to see if clindamycin could affect male fertility (ability to get partner pregnant) or increase the chance of birth defects above the background risk. In general, exposures that fathers or sperm donors have are unlikely to increase the risks to a pregnancy. For more information, please see the MotherToBaby fact sheet Paternal Exposures at https://mothertobaby.org/fact-sheets/paternal-exposures-pregnancy/ .

Quoted from MotherToBaby Fact Sheets — Clindamycin, published October 2023. MotherToBaby states its fact sheets should not take the place of medical care and advice from your healthcare providers.

Breastfeeding is a separate question — what LactMed says about clindamycin

This is general reference information, not medical advice. Whether to take any medication in pregnancy is a decision for you and your prescriber; do not start or stop a drug on your own, because an untreated condition can also carry risk.