The transfer of drugs and therapeutics into human breast milk: an update on selected topics.
Many mothers are inappropriately advised to discontinue breastfeeding or avoid taking essential medications because of fears of adverse effects on their infants. This cautious approach may be unnecessary in many cases, because only a small proportion of medications are contraindicated in breastfeeding mothers or associated with adverse effects on their infants. Information to inform physicians about the extent of excretion for a particular drug into human milk is needed but may not be available. Previous statements on this topic from the American Academy of Pediatrics provided physicians with data concerning the known excretion of specific medications into breast milk. More current and comprehensive information is now available on the Internet, as well as an application for mobile devices, at LactMed (http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov). Therefore, with the exception of radioactive compounds requiring temporary cessation of breastfeeding, the reader will be referred to LactMed to obtain the most current data on an individual medication. This report discusses several topics of interest surrounding lactation, such as the use of psychotropic therapies, drugs to treat substance abuse, narcotics, galactagogues, and herbal products, as well as immunization of breastfeeding women. A discussion regarding the global implications of maternal medications and lactation in the developing world is beyond the scope of this report. The World Health Organization offers several programs and resources that address the importance of breastfeeding (see http://www.who.int/topics/breastfeeding/en/).
['Sachs|Hari Cheryl|HC|', '|||']
D000367:Age Factors D000529:Complementary Therapies D000075202:Contraindications D004348:Drug Labeling D005260:Female D006801:Humans D013287:Illicit Drugs D007223:Infant D007231:Infant, Newborn D008297:Male D008895:Milk, Human D055553:Prescription Drugs D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals D012306:Risk D018570:Risk Assessment D014481:United States D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration
human milk