Quick answer

No trial has tested bovine colostrum supplements in pregnancy. FDA says pregnant women are about 10 times more likely than other healthy adults to get listeriosis, and lists unpasteurized milk among the foods to avoid. Colostrum from the cow is raw milk until it is pasteurized. Ask your doctor before using a colostrum supplement while pregnant.^1,2

Key facts

FDA says pregnant women are about 10 times more likely than other healthy adults to get listeriosis, which can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery and death.¹
FDA lists unpasteurized milk and foods made with it among the foods to avoid in pregnancy, and pasteurized milk and foods made with it among those that are okay to eat.¹
FDA says drinking raw milk, or eating foods made from it, can harm an unborn baby even if the mother does not feel sick.²
Colostrum straight from the cow is raw milk until someone pasteurizes it, and commercial colostrum products differ in processing and pasteurization.^2,3
Colostrum keeps the proteins of cow's milk, including beta-lactoglobulin, a major trigger of cow's milk allergy.³

What does FDA say about unpasteurized milk in pregnancy?

The question is mostly about germs, not about colostrum itself. FDA's page for expecting mothers says listeriosis, an infection caused by the bacterium Listeria, is life-threatening especially for unborn or newborn children, and that raw, unpasteurized milk and unpasteurized milk products are among the ways to get it. Pregnant women are about 10 times more likely than other healthy adults to get listeriosis, and a pregnant woman may have only a mild illness, or none at all, while the baby is harmed.¹

FDA's guidance on raw milk makes the same point and adds that raw milk marketed for pets or animals is not safe for people to drink. It tells shoppers to read the label, because safe milk will have the word pasteurized on it.²

Raw milk, which has not been pasteurized, can carry harmful germs such as Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria and Campylobacter, and so can foods made from it. Colostrum straight from the cow is raw milk until someone pasteurizes it. The germs can be especially dangerous for people with weakened immune systems, children, older adults and pregnant women.^2,3

Is a colostrum supplement raw milk?

It depends on how it was made, and the sources we read cannot say for any one product. Colostrum is dried to a powder for supplements, and reviewers note that commercial products differ in collection time, storage, processing and pasteurization. A powder is not automatically raw or automatically pasteurized.³

Commercial colostrum products have differed up to six-fold in laboratory tests of activity, which reviewers link to collection time, storage, processing and pasteurization.³

The label and the maker are the places that answer it. FDA's advice for milk products is to look for the word pasteurized on the label and to ask when it does not appear.²

What has been tested in pregnant women?

A PubMed search on 2026-10-11 found no trial of bovine colostrum taken by mouth in pregnancy. The systematic review of bovine colostrum we read, which covered 28 papers, describes its studies as highly varied in the people studied, the doses and the quality, with results in sick and healthy adults and in children.⁴

So no study tells us how colostrum affects a pregnancy. That is a gap, not a finding of harm. The one risk the official sources do name is unpasteurized milk, and the rest has not been tested.¹

What about milk allergy and lactose?

Colostrum keeps the proteins of cow's milk, including beta-lactoglobulin, a major trigger of cow's milk allergy that is not found in human milk.³

Colostrum contains lactose, about 2 to 3% of fresh colostrum against about 5% in mature milk.³

MedlinePlus describes lactose intolerance as being unable to digest the sugar in milk and in foods made with milk, with gas, diarrhea and swelling in the stomach after eating it.⁵

Who should ask their doctor before using colostrum while pregnant?

Anyone who is pregnant should ask their doctor before using a colostrum supplement, because no trial has tested one in pregnancy.
Anyone with a milk allergy should ask their doctor, because colostrum keeps the proteins of cow's milk.³
Anyone who is unsure whether a product was pasteurized should ask their doctor and the maker, because FDA names unpasteurized milk products as a risk in pregnancy.¹
Anyone with a weakened immune system should ask their doctor, because FDA says listeriosis is life-threatening especially for people with weakened immune systems.¹

Questions people ask

Is colostrum safe during pregnancy?

No trial has tested bovine colostrum in pregnancy. FDA says unpasteurized milk is among the foods to avoid in pregnancy, and colostrum from the cow is raw milk until pasteurized. Ask your doctor.^1,2

Is milk safe during pregnancy?

FDA lists pasteurized milk and foods made with it as okay to eat in pregnancy and unpasteurized milk and foods made with it among those to avoid. Ask your doctor about your own diet.¹

Is bovine colostrum safe during pregnancy if it is a supplement powder?

A powder is not automatically pasteurized. Reviewers note that products differ in processing and pasteurization, so the label and the maker are where to find out.³

Is milk ok during pregnancy if I have a milk allergy?

Colostrum and milk both keep the proteins of cow's milk, and FDA says both raw and pasteurized milk can cause allergic reactions in people who are sensitive to them. Ask your doctor.^2,3

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Sources

This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.