Saturday 19 September 2015
When considering a medication (including herbal and other “natural” preparations) here are several factors to take into account:
Does the mother need this medication/treatment right now, or is it something that she does not need or can easily postpone until her child is older?
How old is the breastfeeding child? Is s/he healthy? Premature babies, newborns, and babies with health problems require somewhat more caution when it comes to the medications that the mother is taking; healthy older babies and toddlers are generally at a lesser risk since their bodies can metabolize medications more easily.
How much breastmilk does the child get? A child who is getting smaller amounts of breastmilk (a newborn in the early days before mother’s milk volume naturally increases, a baby or child who is eating other foods in addition to breastmilk and breastfeeds less often, etc.) will also be getting less of any medication that passes into breastmilk.
Is the medication in question one with a record of safely being given directly to babies and young children? The amount of the medication that passes into breastmilk will normally be significantly lower than that given directly to young children.
Avoid medications known to affect milk production.
Temporary weaning is a risk to the mother’s milk supply. Milk supply may be compromised since pumps do not provide the same stimulation to supply as does a nursing baby. For the rare times when temporary weaning is needed, see this information on maintaining milk supply when baby is not nursing.
Temporary weaning comes with a risk that baby will not go back to the breast. Some babies have a hard time returning to breastfeeding after temporary weaning, and unfortunately we do not know ahead of time which babies will have problems.
There are known risks of formula feeding, including allergy, increased illness, etc. Many of the risks of formula feeding are not apparent for many years.
Does the mother need this medication/treatment right now, or is it something that she does not need or can easily postpone until her child is older?
How old is the breastfeeding child? Is s/he healthy? Premature babies, newborns, and babies with health problems require somewhat more caution when it comes to the medications that the mother is taking; healthy older babies and toddlers are generally at a lesser risk since their bodies can metabolize medications more easily.
How much breastmilk does the child get? A child who is getting smaller amounts of breastmilk (a newborn in the early days before mother’s milk volume naturally increases, a baby or child who is eating other foods in addition to breastmilk and breastfeeds less often, etc.) will also be getting less of any medication that passes into breastmilk.
Is the medication in question one with a record of safely being given directly to babies and young children? The amount of the medication that passes into breastmilk will normally be significantly lower than that given directly to young children.
Avoid medications known to affect milk production.
Temporary weaning is a risk to the mother’s milk supply. Milk supply may be compromised since pumps do not provide the same stimulation to supply as does a nursing baby. For the rare times when temporary weaning is needed, see this information on maintaining milk supply when baby is not nursing.
Temporary weaning comes with a risk that baby will not go back to the breast. Some babies have a hard time returning to breastfeeding after temporary weaning, and unfortunately we do not know ahead of time which babies will have problems.
There are known risks of formula feeding, including allergy, increased illness, etc. Many of the risks of formula feeding are not apparent for many years.