Is papaya safe during pregnancy?

We found no human evidence that ripe papaya harms a pregnancy, and the warning you have heard is about unripe fruit and comes from rats. We found no study in pregnant women that set out to test whether papaya is safe. The strongest human evidence is indirect. Across 17 randomized trials in 21,567 pregnant women, supplements of vitamin C, the main nutrient papaya supplies, did not change the rate of preterm birth, a risk ratio of 1.04 (95% CI 0.96 to 1.14). The only trial that fed papaya to pregnant women gave 11 oz (300 g) a week as part of a food package to 252 women in Indonesia, and it was built to measure iron, not harm.

Unsettled. The unripe papaya warning has a source, and the source is animal work. In a 1978 rat feeding study, unripe papaya interrupted the estrous cycle and caused abortions, and the effect faded as the fruit ripened. That abstract gives no doses or group sizes. In a 2002 study, crude papaya latex made isolated rat uterus contract much as oxytocin does, while ripe papaya fed through pregnancy harmed neither the rat mothers nor their fetuses. We found no study that has measured any of this in women.

What the trials found

Vitamin C, the nutrient papaya is known for

A cup of raw papaya chunks, 165 g, carries about 100 mg of vitamin C by USDA values, more than the 90 mg Daily Value. That figure is recalculated from the value per 3.5 oz (100 g). The pregnancy trials tested vitamin C as a supplement, alone or with vitamin E. Pooled across 17 of them, it made no significant difference to preterm birth, neonatal death (RR 0.77, 95% CI 0.55 to 1.08), admission to neonatal intensive care (RR 1.03) or early rupture of the membranes before term (RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.63 to 1.71). For the question on this page, that is reassurance about the nutrient. It says nothing about the fruit's latex.

A 2024 meta-analysis of 7 studies reached a more hopeful number for the membranes. Vitamin C lowered the risk of early rupture before or at term, RR 0.57 (95% CI 0.39 to 0.81), and before term, RR 0.67 (95% CI 0.45 to 0.99). The authors note the result did not survive every sensitivity analysis, and it disagrees with the larger pooling above. It is no reason to eat papaya for protection.

The one trial that fed papaya in pregnancy

In 39 Indonesian villages, 252 women at 12 to 20 weeks of pregnancy were randomized by village. The food package each week held 21 oz (600 g) of tempeh, 1.1 oz (30 g) of meat, 12 oz (350 g) of guava, 11 oz (300 g) of papaya and 3.5 oz (100 g) of orange. The trial measured iron status. Papaya was one food among five, and the abstract reports no pregnancy outcomes in either direction.

Rats and laboratory dishes

Every safety signal about papaya in pregnancy comes from animals or isolated tissue. Papaya latex extract made rat uterus contract in a dose-dependent way, most strongly late in pregnancy. Pure papain, the best-known enzyme in the latex, produced contractions that did not last. Standardized papain fed to pregnant rats at up to 800 mg per kg of body weight caused no harm to fetal development or to the mothers. Read together, these point at crude latex rather than at papain alone. The authors of the 2002 study put it this way: normal consumption of ripe papaya during pregnancy may not pose any significant danger, while unripe or semi-ripe papaya could be unsafe.

Papaya leaf is a separate product. A 2021 scoping review of 41 studies found leaf juice and extract generally safe in adults for under five days, and cautioned against it in pregnancy because of reproductive toxicity seen in animals.

Who should be careful

Not for everyone. If you are allergic to latex, papaya can be dangerous. In a series of 11 people aged 7 to 46 with latex allergy who had anaphylaxis to papaya, the shared allergens were papain, chymopapain, caricaine and chitinases. The series shows who is at risk, not how often it happens, and it is not specific to pregnancy.

Imported fresh papaya has a Salmonella record. The FDA tied 8 outbreaks between 2011 and 2020 to imported fresh papayas, with almost 500 illnesses, more than 100 hospitalizations and 2 deaths. One of them, from Maradol papayas grown on a single farm in Campeche, Mexico, put 68 people in hospital in 2017 and killed one. None of this is specific to pregnancy, and the risk belongs to contaminated lots rather than to papaya as such. Foodborne infection is a general concern in pregnancy.

Unripe or semi-ripe papaya and papaya leaf products are where the animal data point. There is no human study to say how much, if any, risk they carry. Avoiding them in pregnancy costs little.

Many women already avoid papaya. Among 75 indigenous pregnant women in Bangladesh, 1 in 5 avoided it, the second most avoided fruit after pineapple. That describes a belief, not a measured harm.

What expert bodies say

We found no agency position on papaya in pregnancy. We looked for one from the NHS, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Indian and Australian food regulators, WHO and EFSA, and the US drug and lactation database has no papaya entry. The FDA statement above is about Salmonella in imported fruit, not about pregnancy.

How we searched

What would change this answer

• A cohort of pregnant women in regions where papaya is eaten daily, recording ripe and unripe papaya separately and following miscarriage and preterm labor. None is registered.
• A statement from a maternity or food safety agency. Today the advice in circulation comes from blogs and from the rat studies above.

More on papaya itself, its vitamin C and carotenoids: the papaya page.

Sources

1. ev-papg-01 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis of RCTs · n = 21567
   Vitamin C supplementation showed no significant difference compared to placebo for preterm birth (RR 1.04; 95% CI 0.96, 1.14). No significant differences were observed for neonatal death (RR 0.77; 95% CI 0.55, 1.08), NICU admission (RR 1.03; 95% CI 0.95, 1.13), preterm PROM (RR 1.04; 95% CI 0.63, 1.71), or birth weight (MD 52.41; 95% CI -19.65, 124.47).
   
   Who: pregnant women in RCTs of vitamin C alone or with vitamin E versus placebo
   Effect: preterm birth RR 1.04 (95% CI 0.96 to 1.14); neonatal death RR 0.77 (0.55 to 1.08); NICU admission RR 1.03; preterm PROM RR 1.04 (0.63 to 1.71)
   Certainty: Indirect for papaya: supplement doses of vitamin C, not the fruit. Shows that vitamin C, papaya's signature nutrient, carries no signal of harm in pregnancy.
   Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet, 2025 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
2. ev-papg-02 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and meta-analysis · n = 7 studies
   Vitamin C supplementation significantly reduced the risk of preterm or term PROM [risk ratio (RR), 0.57; 95% CI: 0.39, 0.81; p < 0.001; I2 = 12.17%), particularly for preterm PROM (RR, 0.67; 95% CI: 0.45, 0.99; p = 0.001; I2 = 0.00%).
   
   Who: pregnant women; 7 studies (8 reports) evaluating vitamin C supplement efficacy against PROM
   Effect: preterm or term PROM RR 0.57 (95% CI 0.39 to 0.81); preterm PROM RR 0.67 (0.45 to 0.99); no difference for term PROM
   Certainty: Supplement doses, not fruit; results not robust in all sensitivity analyses, and it disagrees with the larger 17-trial pooling (ev-papg-01) on preterm PROM.
   Balkan Med J, 2024 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
3. ev-papg-03 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · cluster randomized controlled trial (randomized by village) · n = 252
   The average weekly food provided comprised 600 g of tempeh, 30 g of meat, 350 g of guava, 300 g of papaya and 100 g of orange.
   
   Who: Pregnant women (12-20 weeks of gestation, n 252) in thirty-nine villages in Indonesia; weekly 600 g tempeh, 30 g meat, 350 g guava, 300 g papaya, 100 g orange, 6 days a week
   Effect: iron-deficient women: smaller decrease in ferritin 1.42 (95% CI 1.16 to 1.75) ug/l, P = 0.046; Hb 1.02 (0.98 to 1.07) g/l, P = 0.058; overall changes in iron status similar between groups
   Certainty: Papaya was one of several foods; the trial measured iron status and the abstract reports no adverse pregnancy outcomes either way. It is the only trial found that fed papaya to pregnant women.
   Public Health Nutr, 2011 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
4. ev-papg-04 · Laboratory or animal data · controlled in vivo feeding study and in vitro isolated-organ-bath study in rats · n = —
   The results of the present study suggest that normal consumption of ripe papaya during pregnancy may not pose any significant danger. However, the unripe or semi-ripe papaya (which contains high concentration of the latex that produces marked uterine contractions) could be unsafe in pregnancy.
   
   Who: Sprague-Dawley rats given ripe papaya blend (500 ml/l water) on gestation days 1-5, 6-11, 12-17 or 1-20; isolated uteri from pregnant and non-pregnant rats
   Effect: no difference in implantation sites or viable fetuses; ripe juice 0.02 to 0.16 tsp (0.1 to 0.8 ml) no uterine contraction; crude latex 0.2 mg/ml comparable to 32 mU/ml oxytocin, tetanic spasms in 18-19 day pregnant uterus
   Certainty: Animal and in vitro data. The authors themselves say human risk from unripe papaya is unknown. Not in the local corpus.
   Br J Nutr, 2002 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
5. ev-papg-05 · Laboratory or animal data · in vitro isolated rat uterus study · n = —
   Pure papain induced uterine contractions were not sustained for a longer period and at higher concentrations the receptor proteins were affected by the enzymatic action of papain.
   
   Who: rat uterine preparations in vitro at various stages of the estrous cycle and gestation
   Effect: dose-dependent spasmodic contractions; maximum in later stages of pregnancy; blocked by phenoxybenzamine (alpha-adrenergic); pure papain contractions not sustained
   Certainty: Points to the latex as a whole, not papain alone, as the uterotonic agent. In vitro only. Not in the local corpus.
   J Ethnopharmacol, 2000 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
6. ev-papg-06 · Laboratory or animal data · animal feeding study · n = —
   The results indicate that unripe fruits of papaya interrupt estrous cycle and induce abortions. The abortifacient property seems to decrease as the fruit becomes stale or ripe.
   
   Who: adult cycling and pregnant albino Wistar rats fed different components of papaya fruit
   Effect: unripe fruit: interrupted estrous cycle and induced abortion; abortifacient effect decreased with ripening; progesterone partly counteracted it; surviving fetuses without distinct malformations
   Certainty: 1978 rat study with no doses or group sizes in the abstract. It is the origin of the ripe versus unripe distinction. Not in the local corpus.
   Indian J Physiol Pharmacol, 1978 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
7. ev-papg-07 · Laboratory or animal data · two independent prenatal developmental toxicity studies in rats · n = —
   The results of the present investigations lead to the clear conclusion that oral administration of papain up to a dose of 800 mg/kg does not adversely affect prenatal development and does not cause signs of maternal toxicity.
   
   Who: Wistar rats given oral papain during blastogenesis (days 0 to 6) or embryogenesis (days 6 to 15)
   Effect: no dead fetuses; no increase in post-implantation loss; no external, skeletal or visceral findings; no maternal toxicity at up to 800 mg/kg
   Certainty: Contradicts the older papaya-formulation studies, which suggests the risk, if any, lies in crude latex rather than purified papain. Not in the local corpus.
   Reprod Toxicol, 1995 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
8. ev-papg-08 · Laboratory or animal data · systematic scoping review without meta-analysis · n = 41 studies
   papaya</i> leaf consumption in adults is generally safe for short-term use though cautioned in pregnancy and people with liver impairment.
   
   Who: 23 clinical studies, 5 ongoing trials and 13 preclinical studies of Carica papaya leaf preparations
   Effect: well tolerated for short durations (under 5 days); concerns about hepatotoxicity and reproductive toxicity with long-term use from animal studies; interactions with metformin, glimepiride, digoxin, ciprofloxacin and artemisinin
   Certainty: About the leaf, not the fruit. The pregnancy caution rests on animal data, hence level D. Not in the local corpus.
   Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2021 (systematic scoping review) · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
9. ev-papg-09 · Observational data · cross-sectional descriptive case series · n = 11
   Papain, chymopapain, caricaine and class I chitinases are papaya's most allergenic proteins.
   
   Who: 11 patients aged 7 to 46 years with skin-prick-confirmed latex allergy and papaya anaphylaxis
   Effect: papaya anaphylaxis in all 11; 63.6% also allergic to other foods
   Certainty: Case series without controls, not specific to pregnancy; describes who is at risk, not how often.
   Rev Alerg Mex, 2018 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
10. ev-papg-10 · Position of an expert body · agency statement, FDA constituent update of 25 June 2020 · n = almost 500 reported cases
    This pattern of eight outbreaks since 2011 tied to consumption of imported fresh papayas has accounted for almost 500 reported cases of illness, including more than 100 hospitalizations and two deaths.
    
    Who: US consumers of imported fresh papayas, 2011 to 2020
    Effect: 8 outbreaks; almost 500 illnesses; more than 100 hospitalizations; 2 deaths
    Certainty: Not pregnancy-specific; foodborne infection is a general concern in pregnancy, and the risk belongs to contaminated lots, not to papaya as such.
    FDA, Constituent Update, 25 June 2020 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the section
11. ev-papg-11 · Observational data · mixed-method cross-sectional study · n = 75
    The most commonly avoided fruits were pineapple (33.3%) and papaya (20.0%).
    
    Who: 75 indigenous pregnant women (Tripura, Chakma, Marma) in Khagrachari district, Bangladesh, plus six focus groups with 36 women
    Effect: 46.6% adhered to food taboos; pineapple avoided by 33.3%, papaya by 20.0%
    Certainty: Describes the belief, not a health effect. Similar papaya taboos reported in West Bengal and Gujarat (PMID 30911485, 40396114). Not in the local corpus.
    SAGE Open Med, 2025 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
12. pap-c4-10 · Position of an expert body · reference dataset, FNDDS portions and USDA SR Legacy composition · n = 5 household measures
    FNDDS 2709246 Papaya, raw — 1 slice/chunk 40 g · 1 cup 165 g · 1 cup, mashed 230 g · 1 fruit 330 g || USDA SR Legacy 169926 Papayas, raw — vitamin C 60.9 mg · folate 37 µg · fibre 1.7 g per 100 g
    
    Who: US household measures for Papaya, raw (FNDDS 63133010, fdc_id 2709246) read against USDA SR Legacy Papayas, raw (FDC 169926), 60.9 mg vitamin C per 3.5 oz (100 g)
    Effect: 1 slice or chunk 40 g, 1 cup 165 g, 1 cup mashed 230 g, 1 fruit 330 g; per cup about 100 mg vitamin C, 61 mcg folate, 2.8 g fiber
    Certainty: per-portion numbers are a recalculation from the 100 g value, not a measurement of the portion; US cup measure, given in grams; 1 fruit at 330 g is a small papaya, large Maradol fruits are several times heavier
    USDA FNDDS 2021-2023 and USDA SR Legacy (FDC 169926) · checked 2026-09-23 · we read the dataset
13. papy-b4-10 · Position of an expert body · agency outbreak investigation notice · n = 68 hospitalized, 1 death
    Sixty-eight ill people were hospitalized. One death was reported from New York City.
    
    Who: US cases in 2017 Salmonella outbreaks linked to imported Maradol papayas
    Effect: 68 hospitalized, 1 death
    Certainty: archived CDC page, final update November 3, 2017, one farm source
    CDC, 2017 Salmonella Infections Linked to Imported Maradol Papayas (Final Update), posted November 3, 2017 · checked 2026-09-23 · we read the section