Mississippi Breastfeeding Medicine Clinic - Comment

Please note that any discussion of risks of medications used by breastfeeding mothers should be balanced by a discussion of the risks of not breastfeeding or of stopping breastfeeding. A statement should also be included that many drugs for which we may not have data in breastfeeding mothers have a suitable alternative for which we do have data. Some medications may also be considered safe for mothers breastfeeding older babies that were perhaps not recommended for mothers nursing premature babies or neonates. Just because a medication enters breastmilk in small amounts does not mean that the mother or baby are in any danger. We need to be careful that patients or health professionals become unnecessarily frightened and stop breastfeeding unnecessarily! Rebecca B. Saenz, MD, IBCLC, Fellow, Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine