Some cancer treatments are safer to use during pregnancy than others:

Surgery. During surgery, doctors remove the tumor and some of the healthy tissue around it. There is usually little risk to the fetus. In general, it is the safest cancer treatment during all stages of pregnancy.

Cancer medications. Your treatment plan may include the use of medications to destroy cancer cells, such as chemotherapy. Chemotherapy can only be used during certain times in pregnancy:

During the first 3 months of pregnancy, chemotherapy carries risk of birth defects or pregnancy loss. This is when the fetus's organs are still growing.

During the second and third trimesters, doctors can give several types of chemotherapy with low risk to the fetus. The placenta acts as a wall protecting the baby, so some drugs cannot pass through. Other drugs only pass through in small amounts. Studies suggest that children exposed to chemotherapy during pregnancy do not show more health issues than children who are not. This includes right after birth and during the child's growth and development.

Chemotherapy in the later stages of pregnancy may cause side effects like low blood counts. This can increase the risk of infection and indirectly harm the baby during birth or right after birth.

Your health care team may consider inducing labor early to protect the baby from your cancer treatment. This is a decision that will be made with you very carefully, with both your health and your baby's health considered.

If you receive chemotherapy after the baby is born, you should not breastfeed the baby. Chemotherapy can transfer to the infant through breast milk.