The reality is that not all medications are safe or recommended for pregnant people to take. That's why it's so important to talk to your doctor about the best options for your symptoms. We asked experts to give us an overview of taking allergy medicine while pregnant, but every person is different and nothing beats getting individualized advice.

Editor's note: This information in this article is not medical advice. You should always consult your doctor regarding matters pertaining to your health and before starting any course of medical treatment, especially when you're pregnant.

Can You Take Allergy Medicine While Pregnant?

The good news is that there are allergy medications available that are safe for pregnant people to take, according to experts. "Many over-the-counter allergy medications can be used to safely treat allergy symptoms during any trimester of pregnancy," Sarah McBane, PharmD, a clinical professor at UC Irvine's School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, tells PS.

A 2021 article in the journal Allergy reports similarly, citing several studies that show antihistamines are "widely prescribed during pregnancy for various indications" and "that the literature regarding antihistamine safety . . . is reassuring" for second-generation antihistamines, a medication classification used to treat symptoms of allergies. Likewise, there are some cases where first-generation antihistamines might be favored despite having more sedating properties.

But Dr. McBane also emphasizes that other options exist. "The best medication for a pregnant or breastfeeding individual with allergy symptoms is not always an oral medication," she says. Instead, she suggests talking to your care team about eye drops or nasal sprays to treat your most irritating symptoms, which might be a better and lower-risk option.

"Since these medications are not taken by mouth, much less of them gets into a pregnant or breastfeeding individual's system and therefore lessens any potential exposure to a developing fetus or breastfeeding infant," she says. Dr. McBane emphasizes it's "always best to speak with a pharmacist or physician before taking any medications during pregnancy or while breastfeeding."

Worth mentioning: when it comes to the safety of allergy-medication use during pregnancy, vague language like "may be safe" is often used. The Association of American Medical Colleges explains that because pregnant people are generally excluded from clinical trials, safety data is often collected through retrospective analysis. However, that doesn't mean there aren't safe options available - but it does indicate that it's always a good idea to check in with your doctor or pharmacist, who can weigh in on your specific circumstances on which medications, if any, would be best.

Find more info on specific oral medications below.

Can You Take Benadryl While Pregnant?

"Benadryl, also called diphenhydramine, is a first-generation antihistamine," Dr. McBane says. "It tends to make people drowsy and may cause side effects such as dry mouth or constipation."

She explains that taking Benadryl is considered to be safe during pregnancy; however, she notes that "there are other medications that would be a better choice for allergies," with fewer side effects.

Can You Take Claritin While Pregnant?

Claritin, also known as loratadine, is a second-generation antihistamine. Dr. McBane says that since this medication "has been around longer and has more information on its use in pregnant and breastfeeding individuals, it's often the recommended oral allergy medication."

While it's still important to talk to your doctor before taking Claritin during pregnancy, the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology notes that Claritin has "reassuring animal and human study data and [is] currently recommended when indicated for use during pregnancy."

Can You Take Zyrtec While Pregnant?

Zyrtec, the brand name for cetirizine, is classified as a second-generation antihistamine. According to an article in the journal American Family Physician, which cited four studies examining its effects, this medicine "[does] not appear to increase overall fetal risk." And the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology notes that cetirizine has been studied in animals and humans with "reassuring" data suggesting it's safe to use in pregnancy.

In addition, a 2018 study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, which conducted a retrospective analysis of cetirizine use during pregnancy, concluded that exposure to cetirizine "during pregnancy is not associated with adverse outcomes" for the pregnant person or baby.

Can You Take Xyzal While Pregnant?

Xyzal, the brand name for levocetirizine, is a second-generation antihistamine; however, it doesn't have as much data on its use as other options, so it shouldn't be your first-line option unless your doctor tells you otherwise.

"Although it's probably safe, not much information is available on the use of Xyzal in pregnant or breastfeeding individuals," Dr. McBane says. In these cases, doctors tend to err on the side of caution and recommend medicines that have been more thoroughly studied.

Can You Take Allegra While Pregnant?

Allegra, the brand name for fexofenadine, is another second-generation antihistamine. The American Family Physician article states, "Studies on the safety of terfenadine (which fexofenadine is a metabolite of) in human pregnancy did not show a significant risk of congenital malformation," noting the drug didn't appear to increase "overall fetal risk." A 2020 study in JAMA Pediatrics came to the same conclusion.

While the American Family Physician article states that fexofenadine is considered mostly safe, it also notes that the drug "has been associated with early pregnancy loss in animal studies but has not been studied in human pregnancy." As always, make sure to talk to your doctor before taking this antihistamine to get a sense of your individual risk.

Can You Take Allergy Medicine While Breastfeeding?

You should ask your doctor before taking any medicine if you're breastfeeding your child, but in general, most antihistamines are thought to be safe to use while breastfeeding, Dr. McBane shares.

A 2010 article published in the Canadian Family Physician Journal explains this further, noting that "minimal amounts (of antihistamines) are excreted in the breast milk." And because these medications don't cross into the breast milk, they "would not cause any adverse effects on a breastfeeding infant."

Devan McGuinness (she/they) is a Canadian disabled writer, editor, and social strategist who covers politics, entertainment, parenting, and lifestyle. Devan has contributed to POPSUGAR, Fatherly, Parents, Scary Mommy, Mom.com, and more over her 10-plus years in digital media, specializing in stories that matter most to families.

But the good news kept pouring in. On April 7, the couple revealed they were expecting not one child, but twins. They both readily admit they'd been hoping they'd have twins, if only so that they don't have to fight over which one of them gets to hold the baby.

"We already do it with our cat and our dog, so if we only had one baby, it would be bad," Sullivan jokes.

We caught up with Sullivan and Farago a couple weeks after their announcement, and they were both giddy as they talked about expanding their family. They were still a bit in disbelief, too, given that they went through a failed embryo transfer last year. As Farago put it, despite all of the planning, hormone shots, and everything else that has gone into making this pregnancy a reality, "the fact that it's happening feels surreal."

Keep reading to find out what Farago has been craving during her pregnancy, how Sullivan deals with the "hate" he gets online as a trans man, and why it's so important for them both to be open about their relationship and their journey of growing their family.

On How Pregnancy Is Going

Francesca Farago: All the first trimester stuff - nausea, feeling tired - it all started hitting me this week. I'm feeling a little under the weather, to be expected obviously, and because there are two in there, I definitely feel a little bit worse than I'd feel if there were just one. It's a little bit of a struggle to do day-to-day things, but everyone tells me that when you get into your second trimester, all of that goes away. So I'm excited for that. I'm hiding it with makeup.

Jesse Sullivan: I basically have been like a little caretaker. I make her all her meals, and she's craving very specific things. So anytime she's craving something, I try to surprise her. I'll add a little apple with caramel, and she gets all excited. I take care of the animals, and I've been taking care of the house. Kind of doing everything I can to make her days easier, because she's been going through so much. Not only the twins, but because this was IVF, she's on all these hormones and it's been extra hard on her body. So the least I can do is sort of be like full-blown Mr. Maid.

FF: I'm craving healthy foods, and my favorite thing right now is cinnamon raisin toast with vegan cream cheese and berries on top.

JS: Or a bagel with vegan cream cheese and cucumber.

FF: I'm big on cucumbers right now. I could live off cucumbers. I don't know what it is. I think maybe the freshness.

On What's Been Most Surprising Since Starting Their IVF Journey

JS: Although we intentionally did this and put so much blood, sweat, and tears into making this happen, once it happened and once I was seeing the heartbeats on the scan, it felt so real. And it sounds so weird, because obviously I knew this was going to happen. But it hits you really hard. And it's like, we're bringing human beings into this world together.

FF: I remember the other day, I was thinking like, "Oh my god, we're actually going to have two babies? Who's letting us do this?" I feel like a teen adult. My mom started having kids when she was young, but I'm like, we're ready, but also who let us do this? It's crazy that it's actually happening.

JS: I think that's a normal thing when you're pregnant or at any stage, you get hit with the reality really hard. It happened to me when I was in high school. It felt different. It kind of felt really real the whole time, and this is hitting me in little stages.

FF: Yeah, I think also because we're kind of keeping our guard up a little bit because our first embryo transfer failed, so we've been very realistic about: there's a potential miscarriage, the possibility of it not working out. So the fact that it's happening feels surreal.

JS: That's exactly why it feels surreal, because we were so prepared for it to not be real.

On How They'll Parent

JS: I'm so excited to see Francesca actually go into mother mode. It is something that's so instinctual, and until you're holding that baby, you don't really know how you're going to feel. I can't wait, because I know she's going to thrive. She's going to be the best mom, there's not a doubt in my mind. I think I'm going to see this already amazing, badass person who inspires me every day - times 100. Even me being a parent, I think I'm going to be inspired by her parenting. I can already see that.

FF: I'm nervous I'm going to be too strict. Is the term "helicopter parent"? JS: Yeah, that's where you're like always like, "Oh, are you going to fall? Do you need help?"

FF: Yeah, I'm already like that with our dog. I'm so protective over him, like I need to know where he is at all times of the day. And I don't know if that's because he dealt with a lot of health issues when he was younger and I had to bring him to surgery and it was a really traumatic situation for me and him. I don't know if that bonded us more, but I feel like with the babies, if someone else is holding them, I'm going to be like, "Are you okay?" I feel like I'm going to be really scared.

Also, because, like, we didn't just have sex and get pregnant. I've used over a thousand needles, I've put my body through all this stress, you put your body through stress. Eight months of our lives to get this far - there's so much riding on everything going smoothly that I'm going to be extra protective, I feel like.

JS: It definitely changes how we feel about things.

On Why They're Open About Their Journey

FF: One of the positives I noticed right off the bat was reassurance and building a community of women who have gone through the same thing. It's been really positive. I've been really active on Snapchat, and I post how I'm feeling that day or what I'm going through, and I will get hundreds of reassuring comments from women who have gone through the same thing. I think it's important to share it, because our journey hasn't been shared before. A queer couple doing IVF and being so public about it - I've never seen anyone post like that. So I think it's important for awareness and acceptance and for people to see that we had to go through some extra steps, but we're just a regular family as well. And for younger queer kids to know that they can have a life like us and it's possible - a lot of people don't think it's possible.

JS: Yeah, as a queer couple and telling this story, but more specifically me as a trans man. These sorts of things are so specific to us, and I've never seen a story told like this. Especially right now with the political climate, trans people specifically are so targeted, so I think it's so important. The kinds of messages I've gotten and the comments, they're like, "I'm 15 and I honestly thought I never was going to have a family. You showed me that I can have a family." It's those simple things that you think all kids should feel growing up, and they don't get that. I had a 7- or 8-year-old trans girl whose mom told me that seeing me was the first time she ever thought, "Oh I didn't think anyone would like me for my body." So those things make it all worth it and so important that through the hate we keep going.

FF: There's a lot of hate.

JS: There's a lot of hate, yeah.

FF: But people are so juvenile with their comments. They're not even good comments. Be more original.

JS: At least be funny.

FF: Yeah, at least be funny. I think sometimes it gets hard. I'll post something and get a lot of negative comments and be like, why are we giving these people access to our lives? Why are we giving them access to something so personal and vulnerable if this is the response? I'm like, they don't deserve to see this. But then I remember, for every 10 hate comments, there are 100 positive ones. We're obviously going to be very protective when the babies get here. We're not going to show their faces or anything like that for a while and we're going to feel out the situation, but it's hard because it's not only us that gets hate comments. Arlo gets it as well. You want to protect your family, but you also want to be advocating for families like ours. So it's always a thin line of what to show and what not to show.

JS: It's such a thin line. There are obviously so many cis families out there who are showing their parenting style and whatever, and I'm sure they get a certain amount of hate. But I think because of who we are, it's just so amplified.

When I started this journey of wanting to show my parenting as a trans dad, I couldn't have imagined how difficult it was going to be. I had a bit of rose-colored glasses going into it, but I'm constantly trying to find this balance of letting people in because it's important, but also pulling back when it's like, you crossed too many boundaries. You don't need to ask these very personal questions about my 15-year-old. I've asked you guys not to do it a million times. And then also talking about our future kids and how we're going to raise them, it was like should we do it, should we not. I already know what the comments are going to be. But at the same time, we had so many people commenting like, "I'm a 43-year-old mom of three and you just changed how I think about this." I'm like, this type of stuff is so important. We need people doing that, we need people being like, "I never thought I would think differently than I do, but you have opened my mind up."

But to be completely transparent, it does affect my mental health sometimes. I go through phases where I'm like, this is hard. I don't know how much more I can keep doing. I don't want to call them weaker moments, because I think people are free to have moments like that. But I really try to focus on the bigger picture and what I'm doing for my family, what I'm doing for young people.

So, how much does adoption cost? First you should be aware of the five typical avenues for adoption in the United States: adopting a relative, adopting a stepchild, international adoption, domestic adoption, and foster adoption. While legal fees are involved in each of the five adoption pathways, the average cost of adoption is much higher for these three types of adoption:

1. International adoption: adopting a child from another country, typically from its foster-care system
2. Domestic adoption: adopting a child from the United States, facilitated by an adoption agency
3. Foster adoption: adopting a child from the foster-care system in the United States

The fees that come with the adoption process can vary greatly depending on the type of adoption and in situations where additional advocacy may be necessary, Jodi Miyama, LMSW, senior executive of international adoption at Holt International, tells PS. Here's what you need to know.

How Much Does International Adoption Cost?

"Average fees can range between $25,000 and $60,000" for international adoption, Miyama explains. "The fees cover home-study fees, parent training, agency fees (staffing, licensing, accreditation, operational costs), United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS), translation or document fees, and often sending country fees and travel."

International adoption costs may also include additional fees, depending on the country. "Many countries have government or overseas country fees, legal or attorney fees, and in-country fees," Miyama says. "This could cover care of child, social worker, or child registration expenses. There is great variability between countries due to whether the sending country has specific fees as well as the length of time a family travels and remains in country."

How Much Does Adoption Cost in the US?

According to Ryan Hanlon, president and CEO of the National Council For Adoption, the fees for a domestic adoption "can range quite widely depending upon a number of factors," he tells POPSUGAR. "In general, families pursuing a private domestic adoption should expect to pay between $35,000 and $50,000."

According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway from the US Department of Health and Human Services, the cost can cover home studies, legal fees, court fees, medical fees, and pre-adoption and post-adoption counseling.

How Much Does Foster Adoption Cost?

The fees for families pursuing adoption through the child welfare system are substantially smaller in most situations and can range from $0 to $3,000. Adoption costs vary by state, however.

"Most adoptions from foster care have no or extremely low costs," Hanlon explains. "There are some situations in which parents may incur fees associated with legal aspects of the adoption case." The Child Welfare Information Gateway states that some children in the child welfare system may qualify for additional support, which can help reduce costs.

"The Federal Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 established a program of financial and medical assistance to help promote adoptions from foster care, reduce financial barriers to adoption, and help adoptive families meet their adopted children's emotional, physical, and mental health needs," the report reads.

Are There Ever Unexpected Adoption Fees?

Working with a reputable adoption agency should help reduce unexpected adoption fees, Miyama explains. "When considering adoption, it is important to work with adoption professionals who are licensed. This ensures that a child-centered, ethical adoption occurs," she notes. "Adoption professionals will provide transparency in fees. Sometimes more experienced professionals provide guidance and advice that will prevent delays and reduce expenses."

Is Financial Help Available to Cover Adoption Fees?

Families hoping to adopt but concerned about covering the fees have a few avenues to get past that hurdle. "There are generous adoption grant-making organizations, an adoption tax credit, low-interest adoption loans, and more to help families ensure that cost is not a barrier," Hanlon shares. "There are a lot of good, supportive adoption resources organizations you can partner with, who work to ensure costs aren't a barrier."