Breastfeeding and Cold Medicine

Your breastmilk protects baby from illness. Even if your baby does get sick, s/he will likely have a much milder case since they’re nursing and getting immune factors in the milk.

photo credit: Leonid Mamchenkov

But sometimes mama gets sick with a cold and that’s no fun! Moms don’t get to be sick. We have to suck it up and keep going and take care of the little ones even when we feel bad. If you get a cold you might be tempted to take some cold medicine. Can you mix breastfeeding and cold medicine?

You probably already know that when you are breastfeeding, your milk may contain some of the drug that you ingest, depending on the formulation of the particular medicine. Some drugs don’t pass easily into the milk, some do. The fact is, most medications are safe for nursing mothers. However, since when your baby nurses he or she may receive some of those ingredients that could be potentially harmful to your infant, it’s important to know which cold medicines (and other meds) you can take while breastfeeding.

The best route when you are breastfeeding is to try to hold off as long as possible before you take any cold medicine. Try comfort measures that are safe and non-toxic both to you and your infant, such as rest, getting plenty of fluids, sipping hot broth or chicken soup, taking baths for muscle aches, etc.

Keep in mind that most cold medications have been proven to be ineffective anyway. Since colds are caused by hundreds of different viruses, the medicines help to control symptoms but end up hampering your body’s efforts to heal. It’s not fun to have to blow your nose every 30 seconds, but your body is attempting to get rid of the infection. Same with coughing. It serves a useful purpose. Sip hot tea made with honey and lemon to soothe your throat.

Since medications are so varied, it’s not possible to list every drug here and whether it is safe for nursing moms. There are several places you can get the specific information you need for the particular medicine you want to take.

• Your baby’s pediatrician – your baby’s doctor is probably more informed about medications that are safe for nursing moms, because s/he knows what drugs are safely prescribed to babies themselves. If a drug is prescribed to babies, then it would obviously be safe for a nursing mom, since only a small amount of the medication will make it through her system to baby’s.
• Poison Control Center - believe it or not, your local poison control hotline is a fantastic source of information of what drugs are safe for nursing infants. Since you already have that number handy, try them as a source.
• La Leche League – your local LLL leader can reference a book called Medications and Mother’s Milk (or get in touch with a leader who can). This book is considered the best authority on the topic. Keep in mind that many doctors are simply ignorant of the factors involved with whether a medication is safe and may make a blanket recommendation that you wean when you need to take medication. That is rarely necessary.

When deciding whether a medication is safe for nursing moms, the experts consider whether the medicine shows up in the blood, what the “half life” of the medication is (the less time it’s in the body, the safer it probably is for a nursing mom), the age of the baby and other factors.

Another thing to consider and ask is how a medication will affect your supply. Some cold medicines such as Sudafed (which is considered safe for nursing moms) can have a negative impact on your milk production, which makes sense – since Sudafed “dries you up” it is logical that it will have that affect on your milk also. Most of the over-the-counter medicines including non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS) like Tylenol, Advil, etc are safe to take during breastfeeding.

You might also want to try homeopathic remedies for a cold. These are also nice for babies and toddlers and older children. There is a learning curve with homeopathics, but they are safe for nursing moms and have many uses that go beyond the common cold.

More:

How to find breastfeeding supportive health care providers

Tags: breastfeeding and drugs