Should I Avoid lithium carbonate During Pregnancy? | VeriMom

What to use instead

Pregnancy-safe ingredients that serve a similar function:

Pregnancy-safe products to use instead

Products built around the safer ingredients above, scored "no known risks" or "low risk".

Unknown

100

schmidts here now

L'Occitane

100

L´Occitane Powder To-mousse Facial Exfoliator

Sustain Yourself

100

Sustain Yourself Natural Deodorant

Bitamin

100

Bitamin Natural Deodorant N'orange

Mew mew tweet

100

Mew mew tweet Cedar Spruce Baking Soda Free

Avero

100

Avero Solid Deodorant

Avril

99

Déodorant baume

HappySoaps

99

Happysoaps Neutraal

Laura Mercier

99

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Broad Spectrum Spf 20 - Oil Free

Woohoo

99

Woohoo Deodorant & Anti-Chafe Stick

Pregnancy-Safe Alternatives to lithium carbonate | VeriMom

Ingredients — Pregnancy-Safe Ingredients Database — 28,000+ Ingredients Rated

See also

• Is lithium carbonate safe during pregnancy?
• Is lithium carbonate safe for babies?
• What are pregnancy-safe alternatives to lithium carbonate?

FAQ

Is lithium carbonate safe during pregnancy?

ECHA’s Risk Assessment Committee adopted an opinion classifying lithium carbonate (CAS 554-13-2) as Reproductive Toxicity Category 1A (H360; effect on fertility/foetus) with effects via lactation (H362), which is harmonised-level evidence of reproductive/developmental hazard; clinical and animal literature also document placental transfer and neonatal/fetal effects for systemic (medicinal) lithium exposure. For topical cosmetic use systemic exposure is expected to be negligible (see ECHA registration dossier dermal absorption statement). (Sources: ECHA RAC CLH opinion; ECHA registration dossier; PubMed reviews/studies).

Is lithium carbonate safe while breastfeeding?

ECHA’s adopted opinion includes H362 (dangerous for or via breast‑feeding), and clinical data on medicinal lithium show lithium is excreted in human milk and can produce neonatal toxicity—supporting a high hazard (h=3) and demonstrated mechanism (m=2). For topical cosmetic applications, dermal absorption is considered very poor so direct exposure via cosmetic use is expected to be negligible, though systemic exposure from medicinal use is well documented. (Sources: ECHA RAC CLH opinion; ECHA registration dossier; product/labeling and clinical literature on lithium in breast milk).

Is lithium carbonate safe for baby skin?

Hazard and mechanism are driven by harmonised CLH (Repr.1A H360FD) and clinical/animal evidence of placental transfer and milk excretion—these apply to infants (h=3, m=2). Exposure (e) for topical cosmetic use is judged low/negligible in adults (ECHA: dermal absorption very poor), but infant skin has higher uptake potential so exposure is increased by +1 to e=1 as a precaution for 0–3‑year skin when the ingredient is present in topical products. There is no evidence that cosmetic-grade topical use produces systemic infant exposure, but the harmonised classification leads to conservative scoring for infant contexts. (Sources: ECHA RAC CLH opinion; ECHA registration dossier; PubMed clinical/animal studies).

How does VeriMom score lithium carbonate?

VeriMom scores lithium carbonate at 27/100 (high risk) based on EU CosIng status, ECHA hazard classifications, and peer-reviewed PubMed studies. Our scoring pipeline is fully transparent.

What are pregnancy-safe alternatives to lithium carbonate?

See our curated list of pregnancy-safe alternatives to lithium carbonate based on similar function and a no-known-risks safety band.