16: Medications and Breastfeeding Available to Purchase

The use of a medication by the breastfeeding mother continues to be a reason for unnecessarily stopping breastfeeding. Often, this occurs because the mother receives misleading or confusing advice on the safety of the drug for the breastfed newborn or infant. Even equivocation by a health care professional on the safety of a medication is often interpreted by the mother as the drug being unsafe for her baby. The goals of successful maternal therapy during lactation are providing necessary medications to the breastfeeding mother; minimizing the amount of drug passed through the milk to the newborn, infant, or child to avoid adverse effects in the baby or toddler; and preventing decreases in the mother’s milk supply. Decisions about the choice of a particular therapy for a nursing mother need to be individualized on the basis of the mother’s condition, her tolerance of risk, and the age and condition of her nursing baby. Although information on specific drugs is often limited and of questionable quality, most maternal drugs do not pose a serious risk to the breastfed baby. Providing reassurance to the mother can allay her concerns and help her to continue nursing while taking needed medications.