Quick answer

A 2014 review says creatine use in human pregnancy is yet to be fully evaluated, and a 2021 review says supplementing creatine in pregnancy has been studied widely in laboratory and animal models. NIH notes that much supplement research is in young healthy men. Ask your doctor before taking creatine while pregnant.^1,2,3

Key facts

The ISSN position stand describes creatine in pregnancy as a postulated benefit, resting on animal studies and on measurements of creatine in pregnant women.⁴
A 2014 review says the use of creatine in human pregnancy is yet to be fully evaluated.¹
A 2021 review says supplementing creatine in pregnancy has been widely studied in laboratory and small animal models, with no consensus on whether creatine is essential for reproduction.²
NIH says much performance supplement research is done in young healthy men, not women, older adults or teenagers.³
A review of 29 studies in 951 women found no more side effects than placebo, but its summary does not single out pregnant women.⁵

What the research on creatine in pregnancy looks like

Creatine is made by the body and taken in from meat, and the fetus relies on creatine passed across the placenta until late in pregnancy. The International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand on creatine says this has prompted recent interest in whether extra creatine could matter in pregnancy, and it cites animal studies of birth oxygen shortage plus human measurements of creatine in urine and blood across pregnancy. It describes a possible benefit as postulated.⁴

Two reviews reach a similar place. A 2014 review of mostly experimental studies says creatine use in human pregnancy is yet to be fully evaluated. A 2021 review says supplementing creatine during pregnancy has been widely studied in laboratory and small-animal models, and that there is still no consensus on whether creatine is essential for successful reproduction.^1,2

None of the sources checked reports a trial of the amounts sold as sports supplements in pregnant women, so they cannot say what happens at those amounts. That is not a finding of harm, and it is not a finding of no harm.^1,4

What NIH says about who has been studied

NIH's consumer fact sheet on performance supplements, which covers creatine, says the research is often done in young healthy men, and not in women, middle-aged and older adults or teenagers. Its health professional sheet says most studies of value and safety enroll only conditioned athletes. Pregnant women are not named in either.^3,6

Only 58 of 656 creatine studies, about 9 percent, enrolled women alone.⁵

Across 29 studies that tracked side effects in 951 women, creatine did not raise total side effects, gut complaints, weight gain, or measures of kidney or liver function compared with placebo.⁵

That review of adverse outcomes in women covers females taking creatine in general. Its summary does not single out pregnant women, so it cannot answer the pregnancy question by itself.⁵

Creatine, creatinine and blood tests

A small rise in blood creatinine on lab tests, without a change in estimated kidney filtration⁷

Creatinine is the blood marker used to estimate kidney function. If you take creatine and have kidney-related blood tests, ask your doctor how it may affect the results.^7,8

Who should ask their doctor

NIH's general advice is to be cautious with supplements beyond a standard prenatal supplement during pregnancy, because many have not been well tested in pregnant women. Ask your doctor or midwife before taking creatine if you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, if you have kidney disease or take medicines that affect the kidneys, or if you use a combined product that lists creatine among several ingredients.⁹

Questions people ask

Is creatine safe during pregnancy on Reddit?

This page does not summarize forum posts, which are not studies. It reports an ISSN position stand, two reviews and NIH sheets, and none of them describes a trial of creatine supplements in pregnant women.^1,4

Is creatine safe in early pregnancy?

The sources checked do not give a separate answer for the first trimester, and the pregnancy research they describe is mostly in animals. Ask your doctor before taking creatine if you are pregnant or trying to conceive.^2,9

Is creatine monohydrate safe during pregnancy?

Creatine monohydrate is the form the ISSN position stand and NIH describe, and neither reports a trial of it in pregnant women. The 2014 review says its use in human pregnancy is yet to be fully evaluated.^1,4,6

Does creatine in food count too?

Creatine from meat is part of ordinary diets, and the body also makes about 1 g a day. The sources here are about supplements taken in addition to food, and they do not give an amount for pregnancy.⁶

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Sources

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