Taking medication is always a concern for new moms because they don't
know whether the drugs are safe during breastfeeding.
They don't want the drugs to be passed on to their newborn.
But there is new information out that could put some mothers at ease.
Should you stop the medication? Or should you stop breastfeeding? Both have benefits so it's a tradeoff that's not easy to make.
For the first time in more than a decade, a major medical association is taking a stand on the issue.
Most medications are safe to take while breastfeeding; that's the main message of a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
It lists about 150 drugs where the research shows no effect on the baby.
"We have better data and know these medications are probably safe," said Dr. Susan Rothenberg, Beth Israel Medical Center, Associate Director Obstetrics.
As an obstetrician at Beth Israel Medical Center, and a breastfeeding mother herself, Dr. Susan Rothenberg says the new report may prevent women from unnecessarily foregoing.
"We don't want to sabotage the breastfeeding relationship unless there's a really good reason," Dr. Rothenberg said.
But not all medications have been well studied when it comes to safety during lactation.
The report still puts most antidepressants and anxiety medications in the category of quote "unknown but may be of concern." And "maybe" is enough for most doctors to say no.
"Doctors are afraid of prescribing a medication having something go wrong with the baby and getting sued," Dr. Rothenberg said.
To help doctors decide, the FDA is taking steps to make medication labels more specific.
So instead of just advising caution for breastfeeding women, the label would summarize the research for that drug and how much of it really gets into breast milk.
Much of that research is online. The new report recommends LactMed, a government database that allows you to search by medication.
But as a new mom with a 6-week-old baby boy, Lisa Jang says you never stop worrying.
"Any medication the doctor does prescribe, it's just more or less, is there any harm that's going to be done to the child?" Jang said, "I don't think there's ever enough research, never enough information out there for us, and we're constantly learning."
Read More: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content
They don't want the drugs to be passed on to their newborn.
But there is new information out that could put some mothers at ease.
Should you stop the medication? Or should you stop breastfeeding? Both have benefits so it's a tradeoff that's not easy to make.
For the first time in more than a decade, a major medical association is taking a stand on the issue.
Most medications are safe to take while breastfeeding; that's the main message of a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
It lists about 150 drugs where the research shows no effect on the baby.
"We have better data and know these medications are probably safe," said Dr. Susan Rothenberg, Beth Israel Medical Center, Associate Director Obstetrics.
As an obstetrician at Beth Israel Medical Center, and a breastfeeding mother herself, Dr. Susan Rothenberg says the new report may prevent women from unnecessarily foregoing.
"We don't want to sabotage the breastfeeding relationship unless there's a really good reason," Dr. Rothenberg said.
But not all medications have been well studied when it comes to safety during lactation.
The report still puts most antidepressants and anxiety medications in the category of quote "unknown but may be of concern." And "maybe" is enough for most doctors to say no.
"Doctors are afraid of prescribing a medication having something go wrong with the baby and getting sued," Dr. Rothenberg said.
To help doctors decide, the FDA is taking steps to make medication labels more specific.
So instead of just advising caution for breastfeeding women, the label would summarize the research for that drug and how much of it really gets into breast milk.
Much of that research is online. The new report recommends LactMed, a government database that allows you to search by medication.
But as a new mom with a 6-week-old baby boy, Lisa Jang says you never stop worrying.
"Any medication the doctor does prescribe, it's just more or less, is there any harm that's going to be done to the child?" Jang said, "I don't think there's ever enough research, never enough information out there for us, and we're constantly learning."
Read More: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content
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