Is cranberry juice good during pregnancy?

It looks safe in the amounts people drink, and it has not been shown to do the job it is drunk for. A Cochrane meta-analysis that pooled the two pregnancy trials of cranberry juice found it ineffective at preventing urinary tract infections in pregnancy. A review of 14 randomized trials of herbal remedies in pregnancy found cranberry did not work for treating them. On safety, a trial in 188 pregnant women found no difference in birth or newborn outcomes against placebo.

Myth. Cranberry juice is not a proven way to prevent or treat a bladder infection in pregnancy. A urine infection in pregnancy needs a doctor and usually an antibiotic, and cranberry is not a substitute for either.

What the trials found

Only two trials have given pregnant women cranberry juice to prevent infection. The larger published one randomized 188 women under 16 weeks pregnant to 8.1 fl oz (240 mL) of a 27 percent cranberry juice cocktail two or three times a day, once a day, or a placebo drink, until delivery. At least one infection occurred in 6.9 percent of the most frequent drinkers, 10.4 percent of the once-a-day group and 11.1 percent on placebo. That difference was not statistically significant, and the trial was a pilot that was never sized to find one. The juice came from its manufacturer.

The second trial is known only from a conference poster. It compared juice with water and was not blinded. A 2018 review that read both described them as looking positive on their own. The Cochrane team then pooled both and found no effect in pregnancy. The 2023 update of that Cochrane review, with 3 studies in 765 pregnant women, still found little or no benefit in pregnancy, at low certainty.

A 2023 systematic review explains why the question is still open. Trials of cranberry in pregnancy recruited only 33 percent of the women they approached and lost 41 percent of those they enrolled. The authors say that leaves too much missing data to estimate any protective effect.

Unsettled. Whether a concentrated cranberry product could work in pregnancy is unknown. The juice trials could not keep women drinking long enough to tell, which is a finding in itself.

Who should be careful

The common problem is the stomach. In the 188-woman trial, 73 of 188 women (38.8 percent) could not finish, 44 of them because of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or the taste. Dropout was high in the placebo group too, so not all of it is the cranberry. The 2018 review found the same pattern in both pregnancy trials, at 240 to 250 mL per dose.

For the baby, the evidence is reassuring and limited. In the randomized trial, women drinking juice cocktail from early pregnancy to delivery had no difference in preterm birth, route of delivery, birth weight, Apgar scores or newborn intensive care admissions, in a sample too small to find rare harms.

The largest look at safety is the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort. Among 68,522 pregnancies, 919 women used cranberry. Only 121 used it in the first trimester, which is why the birth defect intervals are so wide: adjusted odds ratio 1.6 for any defect, with a 95 percent interval from 0.8 to 3.2, and 1.3 for major defects, from 0.5 to 3.6. Bleeding after week 17 was more common in users, 9.7 percent against 5.8. After adjusting for urine infections and other factors the odds ratio was 1.3, with an interval from 1.0 to 1.8 (p = 0.08). Users had more urine and vaginal infections, which may explain the signal.

Not for everyone. If you are pregnant and have burning, urgency or a fever, or your antenatal urine test shows bacteria, that needs treatment from your midwife or doctor. Drinking cranberry juice instead is the real risk on this page.

What expert bodies say

The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says studies suggest cranberry is safe in pregnancy and breastfeeding in amounts commonly found in food, and that the evidence is not conclusive for larger amounts. That page was updated in November 2024 and rests on no new analysis of its own. We did not find a cranberry entry in LactMed, the US drug and lactation database. More about the juice itself is on the cranberry juice page.

How we searched

What would change this answer

• A randomized trial in pregnant women large enough to answer the question, using a standardized capsule rather than juice so women can keep taking it. ClinicalTrials.gov lists no active pregnancy trial.
• A cohort that records how much cranberry juice women drink and in which trimester, large enough to narrow the birth defect intervals that 121 first-trimester users leave wide open.

Sources

1. ev-crjp-01 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review with narrative synthesis, CASP appraisal · n = 948
   Both these trials view cranberry juice as potentially effective at preventing UTIs in pregnancy but a Cochrane review by Jepson et al. [34] included both these studies in a meta-analysis and found cranberries to be ineffective in preventing UTIs in pregnancy.
   
   Who: Pregnant women in 2 RCTs of cranberry juice (188 and 760 women), within a review of 8 studies of non-antibiotic UTI prevention
   Effect: individual trials: 57% fewer bacteriuria episodes (underpowered) and fewer UTIs vs water (unblinded poster); pooled in Cochrane: no significant effect
   Certainty: Only two trials exist; one underpowered, one an unblinded conference poster compared with water.
   BMC Pregnancy Childbirth, 2018 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the fulltext
2. ev-crjp-02 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review with narrative synthesis, CASP appraisal · n = 948
   Both trials had a high withdrawal rate mostly due to gastrointestinal disturbances which can limit its use on grounds of acceptability to women.
   
   Who: Pregnant women in 2 RCTs of cranberry juice, 8.1 fl oz (240 mL) and 250 mL per dose
   Effect: high withdrawal rates in both trials, mainly gastrointestinal disturbances
   Certainty: Tolerability, not a hazard to the baby. The review still calls cranberry a safe self-care option.
   BMC Pregnancy Childbirth, 2018 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the fulltext
3. ev-crjp-03 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review of randomized controlled trials, Jadad scale · n = 14 trials
   Cranberry, however, was not efficacious in the treatment of urinary tract infections; finally, raspberry leaf did not shorten the first stage of labor, and garlic did not prevent pre-eclampsia.
   
   Who: Pregnant women in 14 RCTs of herbal remedies published 1990-2010
   Effect: cranberry not efficacious for UTI treatment; ginger effective for nausea
   Certainty: Search ended 2010; cranberry evidence rests on very few small trials.
   J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med, 2013 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
4. ev-crjp-04 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled three-arm pilot trial · n = 188
   More women in the once daily dosing group and the placebo group were likely to have at least one UTI during the study compared to the multiple daily dosing group (7/67 [10.4%], 7/63 [11.1%] versus 4/58 [6.9%], respectively, p=0.71, Fisher’s exact test).
   
   Who: Pregnant women under 16 weeks' gestation, 27% cranberry juice cocktail 8.1 fl oz (240 mL) two to three times daily, once daily, or placebo, until delivery
   Effect: at least one UTI: 6.9% multiple daily vs 10.4% once daily vs 11.1% placebo (p = 0.71); bacteriuria IRR 0.43 (95% CI 0.14 to 1.39) multiple daily, 0.85 (0.34 to 2.08) once daily
   Certainty: Pilot, not powered; the 57% figure quoted in reviews is this non-significant IRR. Juice supplied by the manufacturer.
   Wing et al., The Journal of Urology, 2008 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the fulltext
5. ev-crjp-05 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled three-arm pilot trial · n = 188
   73/188 (38.8%) subjects could not complete the study and withdrew, most for gastrointestinal upset including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and dislike of taste (44 of 73).
   
   Who: Pregnant women under 16 weeks' gestation drinking 8.1 fl oz (240 mL) cranberry juice cocktail or placebo up to three times daily
   Effect: 73/188 (38.8%) withdrew; 44 of 73 for gastrointestinal upset or taste
   Certainty: Dropout was high in the placebo arm too, so not all is due to cranberry.
   Wing et al., The Journal of Urology, 2008 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the fulltext
6. ev-crjp-06 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled three-arm pilot trial · n = 188
   There were no differences between the groups with regards to obstetrical or neonatal outcomes (Table 4).
   
   Who: Pregnant women randomized before 16 weeks to cranberry juice cocktail or placebo until delivery
   Effect: no differences in obstetrical or neonatal outcomes (preterm delivery, route of delivery, birth weight, Apgar, NICU admission)
   Certainty: Small sample; not powered for safety outcomes.
   Wing et al., The Journal of Urology, 2008 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the fulltext
7. ev-crjp-07 · Observational data · prospective population-based cohort study · n = 68522
   However, sub-analyses with first trimester exposures only revealed no increased risk of overall malformations (adjusted OR 1.6, 95% CI 0.8–3.2) or major malformations (adjusted OR 1.3, 95% CI 0.5–3.6).
   
   Who: Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort, 68,522 pregnancies 1999-2008, 919 cranberry users, 121 in the first trimester
   Effect: first-trimester exposure: overall malformations adjusted OR 1.6 (95% CI 0.8 to 3.2); major malformations adjusted OR 1.3 (95% CI 0.5 to 3.6)
   Certainty: Only 121 first-trimester users, so wide intervals; product form and dose not recorded.
   Heitmann et al., BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013, 13:345 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the fulltext
8. ev-crjp-08 · Observational data · prospective population-based cohort study · n = 68522
   Furthermore, when adjusting for maternal age, parity, pre-pregnancy BMI, maternal smoking, maternal folic acid use, UTI, previous miscarriages or stillbirths, and physical activity, no associations were found between use of cranberry during the second and/or third trimester and bleeding after week 17 (adjusted OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.0–1.8, p =0.08) or vaginal bleeding more than spotting after week 17 (adjusted OR 1.2, 95% CI 0.8–2.1, p = 0.40).
   
   Who: Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort, 68,522 pregnancies, cranberry use in the second or third trimester
   Effect: crude bleeding after week 17: 9.7% vs 5.8% (p < 0.001); adjusted OR 1.3 (95% CI 1.0 to 1.8, p = 0.08); bleeding more than spotting adjusted OR 1.2 (95% CI 0.8 to 2.1)
   Certainty: Borderline signal; users had more UTIs and vaginal infections, which may explain it. Self-reported use.
   Heitmann et al., BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013, 13:345 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the fulltext
9. ev-crjp-09 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · systematic review of clinical trials and observational studies, JBI appraisal · n = —
   Among the obstacles, we identified a low average recruitment rate of 33% and a substantial average dropout rate of 41% (resulting in unacceptable missing data levels to obtain reliable estimation of their prophylactic effect in pregnant women).
   
   Who: Pregnant women in clinical trials and observational studies of cranberry supplements for UTI prevention, searched to August 2023
   Effect: average recruitment rate 33%; average dropout rate 41%
   Certainty: Unregistered review; describes why the question is still open rather than answering it.
   Cureus, 2023, 15(10):e46738 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the fulltext
10. ev-crjp-10 · Position of an expert body · agency fact sheet · n = —
    Some studies of the use of cranberry during pregnancy or while breastfeeding suggest it is safe in amounts commonly found in food, but the evidence is not conclusive for use in larger amounts.
    
    Who: Pregnant and breastfeeding women
    Effect: food amounts: probably safe; larger amounts: not established
    Certainty: Fact sheet updated November 2024; no own analysis.
    NCCIH (NIH), Cranberry: Usefulness and Safety, updated November 2024 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the page
11. crnb-r1-02 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, search to 13 March 2023, GRADE certainty · n = 9 trials, 2718 participants across the three groups
    The evidence currently available does not support its use in the elderly, patients with bladder emptying problems, or pregnant women.
    
    Who: elderly institutionalised men and women (3 studies, 1489 participants), pregnant women (3 studies, 765), adults with neuromuscular bladder dysfunction (3 studies, 464)
    Effect: little or no benefit, low certainty: elderly RR 0.93 (0.67 to 1.30), pregnant RR 1.06 (0.75 to 1.50), neuromuscular bladder RR 0.97 (0.78 to 1.19)
    Certainty: low certainty in each subgroup, so absence of benefit is not proof of no effect; but these are precisely the groups most often told to drink cranberry juice, and the pooled data do not back it. Quote from the authors' conclusions, confirmed on PMC by a second request
    Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2023 · checked 2026-09-23 · we read the abstract