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Systematic review

Review of 15 studies in pregnancy and breastfeeding found no clear safety problem

Vine and colleagues · Revista brasileira de psiquiatria · 2022

Original title: Melatonin use during pregnancy and lactation: A scoping review of human studies.

Under review. A person has not yet checked this summary against the paper. It is written from the PubMed abstract. Until a person checks it, search engines are asked not to list this page.

What the study found

No difference

Fifteen studies were found; none had insomnia as the main outcome. Trials for other conditions did not suggest major safety concerns. Authors say use in pregnancy and breastfeeding is probably safe.

The study at a glance

Type of study
Systematic review
Who or what was studied
15 studies · pregnant and breastfeeding women
What was tested
Review of studies of melatonin use in pregnancy and breastfeeding
What it measured
Side effects and safety
Who has a stake
No stake declared
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
Journal
Revista brasileira de psiquiatria, 2022
Source
PubMed record 34730672. This page is based on the abstract only.

How much this study counts

  • •Sums up 15 studies found with a set search method, without pooling the numbers.
  • •Measured side effects and safety.
  • ✓No competing interests declared.
  • •Summarized from the PubMed abstract only. The full paper may hold details the abstract leaves out.

✓ Strength– Limit• Note

These points come from fixed rules about the type of study, its size and length, what it measured, and who has a stake. Every study on Digestery gets the same rules.

Where this study sits

This paper is not on the ladder. It is a systematic review, and reviews and opinion pieces discuss studies that are already counted on the steps below.

↑ Stronger evidence

  1. Trials in people: sleep onset and sleep quality

    8

    2 benefit, 2 mixed, 4 no difference

  2. Trials in people: other measures

    2

    1 benefit, 1 no difference

  3. Trials in people: lab tests or safety

    0

    None among the papers we read.

  4. Population studies

    0

    None among the papers we read.

  5. Blood levels and genes

    0

    None among the papers we read.

↓ Weaker evidence

  • Points to benefit
  • Mixed
  • No difference
  • No direction
  • Points to harm

How it fits with the other research

The short answer to “Does melatonin help you sleep?”

A small effect, clearer in children.

Confidence: low. Based on 20 on-topic papers.

Read the full answer

Other reviews on this question

See all 20 studies on this question

How this page was made

Label

First read of the abstract
Claude Sonnet
Independent second read
Claude Haiku
Differences settled
The reviewer corrected 2 fields after reading the abstract. Claude Opus 5.5.
Headline
Claude Sonnet, from the checked study record. A script checked its numbers and wording.
Numbers
Checked against the abstract by a script
“How much this study counts”
Fixed rules, the same for every study
Source check by a person
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