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Is metoprolol 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 metoprolol (OTIS, published via the NIH) sourcesUpdated Jul 21, 2026How we research

The questions people actually ask about metoprolol 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 metoprolol. Can it make it harder for me to get pregnant?

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

Does taking metoprolol increase the chance of miscarriage?

Miscarriage is common and can occur in any pregnancy for many different reasons. Studies have not been done to see if metoprolol can increase the chance of miscarriage.

Does taking metoprolol increase the chance of birth defects?

Birth defects can happen in any pregnancy for different reasons. Out of all babies born each year, about 3 out of 100 (3%) will have a birth defect. We look at research studies to try to understand if an exposure, like metoprolol, might increase the chance of birth defects in a pregnancy.

It is not known if metoprolol increases the chance of birth defects. Animal studies have not reported an increased chance of birth defects. A large study in humans found that beta-blockers in general did not increase the chance of heart defects.

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

Metoprolol has been associated with intrauterine growth restriction (less growth of the fetus than expected). It is hard to know if a medication, the medical condition being treated, or other factors (such as age, health, other exposures) could be the cause of the growth restriction.

Metoprolol use in late pregnancy might cause the baby to have symptoms such as slowed heart rate and low blood sugar. Talk with your healthcare providers about your use of metoprolol so that if symptoms occur your baby can get the care that is best for them.

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

Studies have not been done to see if metoprolol can increase the chance of behavior or learning issues for the child.

If a man takes metoprolol, could it affect his fertility or increase the chance of birth defects?

It is not known if metoprolol could affect male fertility (ability to make healthy sperm) or increase the chance of birth defects. In general, exposures that fathers or sperm donors have are unlikely to increase risks to a pregnancy. For more information, please see the MotherToBaby fact sheet on Paternal Exposures and Pregnancy at https://mothertobaby.org/fact-sheets/paternal-exposures-pregnancy/ .

Quoted from MotherToBaby Fact Sheets — Metoprolol, published January 1, 2026. 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 metoprolol

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.