Frequently, we get questions on whether a prescription or over-the-counter medication is safe to take while breastfeeding. Many factors affect the transfer of medications into breast milk, including the molecular size of the medication, the age of your baby, the degree of exclusivity of breastfeeding, how long you are taking the medication, the “half-life” of the medication, it’s mode of absorption and mode of action, and if it is “lipid-loving”, among other things! Many medications transfer into human milk in very small amounts with insignificant risk to your baby, but you should be fully informed before deciding to take any medication. The risk to your baby of not breastfeeding, and the risk to your health of not taking a recommended treatment should also be weighed against any risk of exposure to a medication in your milk. If you contact us with the active and/or inactive ingredients, we can provide you and your medical provider with information from Dr. Thomas Hale’s “Medications and Mother’s Milk”, which is the best reference on the transfer of drugs into breast milk. You can also look up medications in the free NIH “LactMed” library. However, we cannot give you specific advice on whether to continue breastfeeding while taking any medication – this is an informed decision you make with your doctor. We hope you find this information useful as you consider the risks and benefits of both taking the medicine and continuing to breastfeed.

Please contact us if you have any further questions, we’d be happy to talk with you further and help you out any way we can!

DISCLAIMER: We know when you surf the web for information, you can get conflicting results, and it’s not easy to know whether you are finding evidence-based, high quality recommendations. That’s part of our job here at Kodiak KINDNESS; we are here to support your informed decisions about infant feeding through your baby’s first year. We’ve done some background work, and to the best of our knowledge, this post reflects current best practices. However, the information contained in this post and any links contained herein is for your informational use only; it is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Furthermore, Kodiak KINDNESS is not responsible for the accuracy of any information contained in this post or links contained herein; it is for you to review at your own risk and discuss, as needed, with your health care professional in order to make a plan that suits your individual circumstances.