Published on: December 27, 2023 | Last updated on: February 24, 2026
Most medical providers recommend avoiding Botox and Dysport, and other cosmetic neurotoxin treatments during pregnancy and breastfeeding because there is limited research confirming their safety for unborn babies. While the overall risk is believed to be low, the absence of controlled human studies leads doctors to advise caution.
If you are pregnant or trying to conceive, the safest approach is to pause Botox treatments until after delivery and breastfeeding.
Doctors recommend avoiding many medications and elective procedures during pregnancy to minimize even small potential risks to a developing baby. In some cases, those recommendations are based on well-established evidence. In other cases, they are based on the simple fact that we do not have definitive safety studies.
Because it would be unethical to conduct controlled trials on pregnant women for cosmetic treatments, we are unlikely to ever have conclusive research confirming that Botox is completely safe during pregnancy. When uncertainty exists, most medical providers take a conservative approach.
Botox and Dysport work locally at the neuromuscular junction and are absorbed within minutes of injection. When used properly for cosmetic purposes, they have not been shown to circulate through the bloodstream in significant amounts or cause systemic effects. Despite this, there are no large-scale studies evaluating the safety of Botox in pregnant or breastfeeding patients.
When breastfeeding, there is a concept of “Pump and Dump” when certain medicines or procedures are medically necessary. If you are breastfeeding, oftentimes a medicine is passed into your bloodstream, and could be secreted into your breast milk. If that is the case, the baby could be exposed by feeding on the breast milk. If a medicine is necessary, doctors will recommend that you use a breast pump to pump the milk and dump it, usually for 24 hours, to get it out of your system and not pass it along to the baby. This is called “Pump and Dump.”
Could you get Botox or Dysport and Pump and Dump for 24 hours? You could, but in general this is not recommended, since Botox or Dysport is always considered an elective procedure, and is not medically necessary. Doctors recommend using this technique only when medically necessary.
If you are receiving Botox or Dysport injections and then find out you are pregnant, we recommend that you immediately stop getting injections. As stated above, though the risk is low, there are no studies, and we consider any risk simply too much.
Because the most critical part of development of a fetus is in the first trimester, early pregnancy is considered the most vulnerable time of the pregnancy. We recommend that you stop Botox treatments before trying to conceive. This means that the best timing is during or right after your period has ended, long before the next ovulation. Because women sometimes can have some bleeding in the very beginning of pregnancy, sometimes this can look like a regular period. So if there is any possibility that you are pregnant, we recommend that you defer any Botox treatments.
In general, Botox is a Category C drug, and you should avoid using it during pregnancy because studies have not been done to establish that it is safe. However, studies of migraine patients have shown that people who have been treated with Botox for migraines while pregnant have no increased risk of birth defects. If migraines are severe and Botox is necessary, it has been used in patients who are pregnant. However, it is important to keep in mind that it should be completely stopped for any elective procedure.
Facials and Hydrafacials can temporarily smooth skin while you’re pregnant. Light chemical peels can help smooth fine lines and improve the texture and tone of the skin. Facials can be a great part of any skin care routine. Hydrafacial even has boosters that can provide other anti-aging ingredients to your skin.
Exfoliation treatments such as dermaplaning and microdermabrasion are safe during pregnancy, and can remove dead cells, revealing fresh new cells at the surface. This improves the skin tone, helping reduce pigment.
Most skin care products are completely safe during pregnancy. The ingredients to avoid are retinols, prescription tretinoin and hydroquinone. Most routine skin care products are safe, including
If you are not breastfeeding, you can resume after childbirth. If you are breastfeeding, we recommend that you wait to resume Botox treatments until completely done. Although the risks are low, we have a zero risk policy when it comes to the safety of your newborn. This goes for other products and procedures that are off-limits during pregnancy as well.
Cosmetic injectables do not affect fertility. If you have had Botox, Dysport or filler in the past, it will not hurt the chances of getting pregnant. But we do recommend refraining from injectable treatments once you decide to start trying to conceive.
