Can You Take Creatine While Pregnant or Breastfeeding?

Ask your midwife or GP first, and expect them to say wait. No randomised trial has given creatine to pregnant women, and no study of any kind has looked at creatine supplements in breastfeeding women. The NHS pregnancy page says that if you need other supplements, speak to a GP.¹ This page gives no dose. Outside pregnancy the adult evidence is on what creatine does.

Evidence at a glance

• Randomised trials in pregnancy: none. The Cochrane review found no randomised trial; the 2025 review by creatine researchers found none either; one small open-label dosing study has reported its first stage.^{2, 3, 11}
• Largest studies: two Australian cohorts, 287 and 282 pregnant women, measuring the women's own creatine; nobody was given a supplement.^{4, 5}
• Breastfeeding: no study of supplements; human milk naturally contains a little creatine, supplying about 9% of what a breast-fed baby needs.¹⁰
• Not known: what a supplement does in pregnancy or to breast milk, in either direction.

Sources checked on 29 October 2026.

Can you take creatine while pregnant?

The question needs a trial that gives pregnant women creatine or a placebo and follows them and their babies. It does not exist. The Cochrane review of creatine in pregnancy reports: "We found no randomised controlled trials for inclusion in this review."² The 2025 review by a group of creatine researchers says there is "no direct evidence available from well-designed and executed randomized controlled clinical trials" on its safety and tolerability in human pregnancy.³

The NHS sentence on supplements beyond the two it recommends, from a page reviewed on 3 June 2026 and read on 29 October 2026: "If you need higher dose folic acid or other supplements, speak to a GP."¹ Creatine is one of those other supplements.

What the research covers, and what it does not

Two Australian studies measured creatine in pregnant women without giving anyone a supplement. The first looked back at stored blood and urine from 287 pregnant women in Adelaide and found that the creatine in a woman's urine was associated with her baby's birthweight centile and birth length.⁴ The second followed 282 women with low-risk pregnancies in Melbourne from 10 to 36 weeks. Creatine in the blood stayed stable across pregnancy, eating more animal protein went with higher blood creatine until about 32 weeks, and "there were no links between creatine and neonatal growth".⁵ Nobody in either study took a supplement, so they say nothing about whether taking one is a good or bad idea. They do show that creatine is already part of a pregnant woman's diet: the body gets it "from a diet rich in fish, meat, or dairy" as well as making its own, and the women who ate more animal protein had more in their blood.^{2, 5} A supplement is a different quantity, and that is the quantity nobody has tested.

The animal work is about complicated births, not healthy pregnancy. Researchers have asked, in small animal models, whether creatine fed to the mother could reduce brain injury when a birth is starved of oxygen.^{6, 7} It has not been tested in humans: the Cochrane authors say "no trials assessing creatine in pregnant women for fetal neuroprotection have been published", and it is not evidence about healthy human pregnancy either way.²

One human study is under way and has reported only its first stage, as a conference abstract. The Australian pharmacokinetic and tolerability trial the 2025 review mentions, registered as ACTRN12620001373965, gave a single dose of creatine monohydrate to seven women in the third trimester and eight who were not pregnant: the peak level of creatine in the blood, and the time it took to reach it, were comparable in the two groups, the participants reported no major side effects, and nothing about mother or baby beyond that has been reported; its second stage, three days of dosing in eight pregnant women, has not reported.^{3, 11} Two phrases you may meet online, "nothing alarming" and "protective", are both unsupported: no study has yet measured what taking creatine through a pregnancy does to mother or baby.

Why midwives and GPs usually say wait

The reason is the absence of safety data, not a known harm. Trials in pregnancy are rare for almost every supplement and medicine, because enrolling pregnant women means asking them to accept an unknown risk for their baby. "No trial" is the normal state of the evidence for most things a pregnant woman might take.

The NHS pregnancy page names the supplements that do have a place: "400 micrograms of folic acid every day" for the first 12 weeks, and "10 micrograms of vitamin D every day between early October and late March", covered on folic acid during pregnancy and should you take vitamin D in pregnancy.¹ For everything else, the instruction is the one quoted above: speak to a GP.

A midwife's "wait" is advice for a pregnancy with no trial behind it, not a verdict on creatine; the same applies to collagen and most other supplements (is collagen safe to take when pregnant). At the appointment, say what you were taking and how often, and ask whether to pause it.

Can you take creatine while trying to conceive?

No human trial has measured fertility, time to pregnancy or any conception outcome in women taking creatine; the two Australian cohorts began at 10 weeks of pregnancy or later.^{4, 5} A 2021 review notes that some studies link disturbed creatine metabolism to reduced fertility, and that "there is still no consensus on whether creatine is essential for successful reproduction"; those studies are about the body's own creatine, not supplements.⁶ So "does creatine cause infertility in women" is not studied either way. If you are planning a pregnancy, the NHS advice that does exist is folic acid from before conception, and a GP conversation about anything else you take.¹

Does creatine affect fertility in men?

No randomised trial has given men creatine and measured sperm count, movement or shape, so the question is untested rather than answered. The 2025 review by creatine researchers, a group with supplier links, says the worry comes from studies of multi-ingredient bodybuilding products that also contained anabolic steroids, and that most trials find no change in testosterone on creatine alone.³ None of that is a trial result in men trying to conceive; a couple having trouble conceiving should see a GP.

Can you take creatine while breastfeeding?

No study of any kind has given creatine supplements to breastfeeding women. The medical literature searched on 29 October 2026 holds no such study, and the 2025 review lists breastfeeding as an area of research without reporting a study.^{3, 8} So nothing is known about what a supplement does to a mother's milk or her baby, and this page says nothing about it.

Creatine is in breast milk anyway, in small amounts. A 2013 Canadian study measured it in mothers' milk and in infant formulas and calculated that a breast-fed baby receives about 9% of the creatine it needs from milk, making the rest itself; babies on cows' milk formula received up to 36%.¹⁰ Whether a mother's supplement changes the amount in her milk has never been measured.

What the NHS does say, on its breastfeeding and diet page (reviewed 15 May 2026): everyone, including breastfeeding women, should consider "a daily supplement containing 10mcg of vitamin D during the autumn and winter months"; "Caffeine can reach your baby through your breast milk", so have "no more than 200mg a day"; and "Ask your GP or health visitor where to get vitamin supplements."⁹ Your GP or health visitor is also the person to ask about creatine.

Questions to bring to your appointment

Your midwife or GP answers these, not this page.

• "I was taking creatine every day before I found out I was pregnant. Should I pause it, and from when?"
• "Is there anything in my blood results it could affect?" Creatine supplements raise the creatinine reading taken in pregnancy; see creatine vs creatinine.
• "When would it be reasonable to start again, and does breastfeeding change that?"

The adult evidence by life stage, including creatine in menopause, is on creatine for women; the side-effect record in non-pregnant adults is on creatine side effects.

What we don't know

• Whether creatine supplements are safe in pregnancy, in either direction; no trial has followed pregnant women taking creatine and their babies.^{2, 3}
• Whether a supplement changes the creatine in breast milk, or what that would mean for a baby.¹⁰
• Whether creatine affects conception in women or sperm in men; neither has been measured in a trial.^{3, 6}
• What the second stage of the Australian dosing study will report.^{3, 11}

Frequently asked questions

Is creatine safe during pregnancy?

No trial has tested it, so nobody can say safe or unsafe; the NHS says to speak to a GP about any supplement beyond folic acid and vitamin D.^{1, 2, 3}

I took creatine before I knew I was pregnant. Is that a problem?

No human data says it is or is not, because nobody has studied it. Tell your midwife at your first appointment what you were taking and when you stopped.

Can babies or toddlers have creatine?

No. No study supports giving creatine to a healthy baby or toddler; keep supplements out of reach, and if a small child swallows a quantity call NHS 111. The under-18 evidence is on is creatine safe for teenagers.

Does creatine affect a pregnancy blood test?

Creatinine, a kidney marker, is measured in pregnancy, and taking creatine raises the reading, so your midwife should know you take or took it; the explanation is on creatine vs creatinine.

Sources

1. NHS. Pregnancy vitamins and supplements. Page last reviewed 3 June 2026; read 29 October 2026. nhs.uk.
2. Dickinson H, et al. Creatine for women in pregnancy for neuroprotection of the fetus. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2014. Cochrane review; no trials found; authors declare no interests. PubMed 25523279.
3. Antonio J, et al. Part II. Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation: what does the scientific evidence really show? Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2025. Narrative review; several authors declare creatine industry funding or roles. PubMed 39720835.
4. Dickinson H, et al. Maternal creatine in pregnancy: a retrospective cohort study. BJOG, 2016. Retrospective cohort, 287 pregnant women, Adelaide. PubMed 27550725.
5. de Guingand DL, et al. Creatine and pregnancy outcomes: a prospective cohort study of creatine metabolism in low-risk pregnant females. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2024. Prospective cohort, 282 women, 10 to 36 weeks; non-commercial support. PubMed 38432717.
6. Muccini AM, et al. Creatine metabolism in female reproduction, pregnancy and newborn health. Nutrients, 2021. Narrative review; one author advises a creatine manufacturer. PubMed 33540766.
7. Dickinson H, et al. Creatine supplementation during pregnancy: summary of experimental studies suggesting a treatment to improve fetal and neonatal morbidity and reduce mortality in high-risk human pregnancy. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 2014. Review of animal studies; non-commercial support. PubMed 24766646.
8. Smith-Ryan AE, et al. Creatine supplementation in women's health: a lifespan perspective. Nutrients, 2021. Narrative review; two authors advise a creatine manufacturer. PubMed 33800439.
9. NHS. Breastfeeding and diet. Page last reviewed 15 May 2026; read 29 October 2026. nhs.uk.
10. Edison EE, et al. Creatine and guanidinoacetate content of human milk and infant formulas: implications for creatine deficiency syndromes and amino acid metabolism. British Journal of Nutrition, 2013. Laboratory analysis of human milk and formulas with calculated infant intakes. PubMed 23388580.
11. Naidu M, et al. Open label, dose escalation trial of creatine monohydrate in pregnancy. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2025, volume 22, supplement 1. Conference abstract, not a full paper; open-label dose-escalation trial, first stage 8 non-pregnant and 7 third-trimester pregnant women, single dose; funding not stated in the abstract. Read 9 November 2026. doi.org/10.1080/15502783.2025.2533652.

General information, not medical advice. In pregnancy and breastfeeding, every supplement beyond the ones the NHS recommends is a question for your midwife, GP or health visitor.

Spotted something out of date? Email support@wellgard.co.uk with the page address and the sentence.