Can You Take Melatonin While Breastfeeding? Safety, Risks and Better Sleep

When your baby finally sleeps and you can’t, it’s maddening. Postpartum insomnia is common, and melatonin can look like an easy, “natural” fix. But natural isn’t always the same as studied, and when you’re breastfeeding, what you take can reach your baby.

Here’s what the evidence says about melatonin and breast milk, the real risks to think about, and other ways to get more rest. For general rules about medicines and supplements, see our hub on what’s safe while breastfeeding.

What is melatonin?

Melatonin is a hormone made by your brain’s pineal gland. It helps set your body clock, rising in the evening and falling in the morning. Supplements contain a manufactured version and are sold over the counter in the US as dietary supplements, in tablets, capsules, liquids and gummies.

Is melatonin safe while breastfeeding?

There’s no definitive answer, but the main references are fairly reassuring about occasional, short-term use.

LactMed, the National Library of Medicine’s drugs and lactation database, says:

• Melatonin has no specific use during breastfeeding, and there’s no data on the safety of mothers taking it while nursing.
• However, babies have been given melatonin directly at higher doses than they’d get through milk, without problems.
• It’s unlikely that short-term use of usual doses in the evening would harm a breastfed baby.
• Some authors still recommend against it because of the lack of data and because premature newborns clear melatonin slowly.

MotherToBaby agrees that melatonin supplements haven’t been well studied in breastfeeding. It describes one case report of a breastfed baby with a bleeding problem whose mother took a supplement combining melatonin with valerian. That problem hasn’t been reported elsewhere, including in babies given melatonin directly, but it’s a reminder that combination products add unknowns.

Melatonin is already in your milk

Your own melatonin passes into breast milk, and it follows your body clock. LactMed notes that milk levels are higher at night, peaking around 3 am, and low or undetectable during the day. Some studies have linked this nighttime melatonin to longer sleep in breastfed babies.

This is one reason some experts suggest feeding in dim light at night and, if you pump, labeling milk with the time of day so night milk can be used at night. It isn’t proven to matter much, but it’s an easy habit. Our breast milk storage calculator can help you keep track of how long pumped milk stays good.

The real concerns with melatonin supplements

Supplement quality varies

Melatonin is regulated as a dietary supplement, not a medicine. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health reports that:

• in a 2017 study of 31 melatonin supplements, most didn’t contain the amount on the label, and about a quarter contained serotonin, and
• in a 2023 study, 22 of 25 melatonin gummies were inaccurately labeled, with actual amounts ranging from 74% to 347% of the label.

So the dose you think you’re taking may not be the dose you’re getting.

Premature and very young babies

Newborns, and especially premature babies, process many substances more slowly. LactMed specifically mentions melatonin’s relatively long half-life in preterm newborns as a reason some experts advise against it. If your baby was born early or is still in the NICU, ask the team before taking any supplement.

Drowsiness and safe sleep

The biggest practical risk may be you being too drowsy. The American Academy of Pediatrics says the risk of sleep-related infant death is more than 10 times higher when babies share a bed with someone who is fatigued or has taken a medicine that makes it harder to wake up. It’s up to 67 times higher on a couch or soft armchair.

If you take melatonin or any sleep aid:

• put your baby to sleep on their back in their own crib or bassinet,
• don’t feed lying down in bed or on a couch if you might drift off, and
• ask a partner to bring the baby to you for night feeds and settle them back afterward.

If you and your doctor decide to try it

1. Check with your doctor or pharmacist first, especially if you take other medicines or have a health condition, so they can check for interactions.
2. Use the lowest dose on the label, and don’t exceed it. LactMed’s reassurance applies to usual doses, used short-term.
3. Take it in the evening only, so it lines up with your body’s natural rhythm.
4. Choose a single-ingredient product, without valerian, herbs or antihistamines. If a “PM” product contains diphenhydramine, see our guide to Benadryl while breastfeeding.
5. Keep it short-term. If you still need help sleeping after a short trial, talk to your provider about what’s behind it.
6. Watch your baby for unusual sleepiness, poor feeding or fussiness.

Better sleep without a supplement

Some of these are easier said than done with a newborn, but they help:

• Share the night. If you pump, a partner can give one bottle feed so you get a longer stretch. Our pumping schedule guide explains how to fit this in without hurting supply.
• Sleep when you can, even in short blocks.
• Get daylight in the morning and keep evenings dim to help your body clock.
• Watch the caffeine. Coffee late in the day can make insomnia worse. Our guide to caffeine while breastfeeding covers safe amounts and timing.
• Avoid screens in bed and keep the room cool and dark.

When to call a doctor

Talk to your doctor or midwife if:

• you can’t sleep even when your baby is sleeping, night after night,
• you feel hopeless, anxious, numb or overwhelmed, or have racing thoughts,
• you’ve had thoughts of harming yourself or your baby (call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or 911 in an emergency), or
• your baby is unusually sleepy, hard to wake or not feeding well after you’ve taken melatonin.

Trouble sleeping can be a sign of postpartum depression or anxiety, which are common and treatable. You deserve support; our breastfeeding support page lists people who can help.