Pregnancy & Baby 

Advertisement

Breastfeeding and drugs: a mother's guide

continued from page 2
breast milk and the most important parameter that determines drug penetration into breast milk) and half-life (an indication of the length of time a drug remains within the body) all affect how much of the drug is transferred into the breast milk.General rules
There are some general guidelines for taking drugs while breastfeeding:

• Only if you really need it.
• If you have a choice, delay the start time until your baby is older.
• Take the lowest possible dose for the shortest possible time.
• Avoid 'sustained release' drugs.
• Schedule the doses so that the lowest amount gets into the milk - taking it soon after feeding, preferably a night feed.
• Watch for any reaction/side effects: mothers are often not informed, and do not realise, that diarrhoea, constipation, sedation or weakness may be a medication problem. Being forewarned will safeguard the baby

Drugs guide

• Steroids have been safely used in breastfeeding mothers for many years.
• Most antibiotics are safe.
• Combined oral contraceptives are contraindicated.
• Progesterone-only pills are safe.
• Antidepressants are used with caution. A balance has to be made between the needs of the breastfeeding mother against the possible adverse effects on the infant. These drugs have not been investigated in a controlled and systematic way; there are single case reports and confoundable data, and this makes guidelines difficult.
• Lithium is not safe.
• Antiepileptics have not been proven unsafe.
• Oral anticoagulants (blood-thinning agents) appear safe.
• All drugs of abuse are contraindicated.

Delicious     Digg     reddit     Facebook     StumbleUpon

  Get the latest iVillage news on your desktop    Sign up for more iVillage RSS feeds

© iVillage Limited 2000-2008. All rights reserved. | © iVillage inc. 1995-2008. All rights reserved.
iVillage Ltd is a UK company registered in England & Wales (3837269) at 80-110 New Oxford Street, London WC1 1HB