Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Special Population: Breast Feeding

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Drug Discovery and Evaluation: Methods in Clinical Pharmacology

Abstract

The vast majority of medications are compatible with continued breastfeeding. The reason for this is not only that most medications have pharmacokinetic properties which cause them to be excreted into breast milk in clinically insignificant amounts but also because the risks of stopping breastfeeding and the health risks of formula feeding both for the child and the mother need to be taken into account. Breastfeeding implies not making a decision for one person only, either the mother or the child, but rather it means making the decision for both. This chapter discusses the reasons that medications used to treat a breastfeeding mother rarely require interruption of breastfeeding.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References and Further Reading

  • Abdel-Latif ML, Pinner J, Clews S (2006) Effects of breast milk on the severity and outcome of neonatal abstinence syndrome among infants of drug-dependent mothers. Pediatrics 117:1163–1169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Drugs (2001) The transfer of drugs and other chemicals into human milk. Pediatrics 108:776–789

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amitay EL, Keinan-Boker L (2015) Breastfeeding and childhood leukemia incidence: a meta-analysis and systematic review. JAMA Pediatr 169(6):e151025

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Belfort MB, Anderson PJ, Nowak VA et al (2016) Breast Milk feeding, brain development, and neurocognitive outcomes: a 7-year longitudinal study in infants born at less than 30 weeks’ gestation. J Pediatr 177:133–139

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bowatte G, Tham R, Allen KJ, Tan DJ, Lau M, Dai X, Lodge CJ (2015) Breastfeeding and childhood acute otitis media: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Paediatr 104(467):85–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.13151. PMID: 26265016

  • Burrell S-AM, Exley C (2010) There is (still) too much aluminium in infant formulas. BMC Pediatr 10:6

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cardwell CR, Stene LC, Ludvigsson J et al (2012) Diabetes Care 35:2215–2225

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cheong JLY, Thompson DK, Spittle AJ et al (2016) Brain volumes at term-equivalent age are associated with 2-year neurodevelopment in moderate and late preterm children. J Pediatr 174:91–97

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cobb B, Liu R, Valentine E et al (2015) Breastfeeding after anesthesia: a review for anesthesia providers regarding the transfer of medications into breast milk. Transl Perioper Pain Med 1(2):1–7

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Collaborative Group on Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer (2002) Breast cancer and breastfeeding: collaborative reanalysis of individual data from 47 epidemiological studies in 30 countries, including 50 302 women with breast cancer and 96 973 women without the disease. Lancet 360:187–195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cregan MD, Fan Y, Applebee A et al (2007) Identification of nestin-positive putative mammary stem cells in human breastmilk. Cell Tissue Res 329:129–136

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davanzo R (2005) Farmaci e allattamento materno. Boll Inform Farm XII(2):66–71

    Google Scholar 

  • Davanzo R, Copertino M, De Cunto A, Minen F, Amaddeo A (2011) Antidepressant drugs and breastfeeding: a review of the literature. Breastfeed Med 6(2):89–98

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dhonukshe-Rutten RAM, Vossenaar M, West CE et al (2005) Day-to-day variation in Iron, zinc and copper in breast milk of Guatemalan mothers. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 40:128–134

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fabic MS, Choi Y (2013) Studies in. Fam Plann 44(2):205–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fenner S (2018) Safety in lactation: drugs for hypertension. Specialist Pharmacy Service

    Google Scholar 

  • Frank-Herrmann P, Heil J, Gnoth C et al (2007) The effectiveness of a fertility awareness based method to avoid pregnancy in relation to a couple’s sexual behaviour during the fertile time: a prospective longitudinal study. Hum Reprod 22(5):1310–1319

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goldman AS (2019) Future research in the immune system of human milk. J Pediatr 209:274–279

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gustafsson L, Hallgren O, Mossberg A-K et al (2005) HAMLET kills tumor cells by apoptosis: structure, cellular mechanisms, and therapy. J Nutr 135:1299–1303

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Haastrup MB, Pottegård A, Damkier P (2014) Alcohol and breastfeeding. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol 114:168–173

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hale T (2019) Preface in: medications and mothers’ milk. Hale Publishing, Amarillo

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamdan A, Tamin H (2012) The relationship between postpartum depression and breastfeeding. Int J Psychiat Med 43(3):243–259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hassiotou F, Geddes DT (2015) Immune cell–mediated protection of the mammary gland and the infant during breastfeeding. Adv Nutr 6(3):267–275

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Heikkilä K, Sacker A, Kelly Y et al (2011) Breast feeding and child behaviour in the Millennium Cohort Study. Arch Dis Child 96:635–642

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ho NT, Li F, Lee-Sarwar KA et al (2018) Meta-analysis of effects of exclusive breastfeeding on infant gut microbiota across populations. Nat Commun 9(1):4169

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hotham N, Hotham E (2016) Drugs in breastfeeding. Aust Prescr 38:156–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Imaz ML, Torra M, Soy D et al (2019) Clinical lactation studies of Lithium: a systematic review. Front Pharmacol 10. Article 1005

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson BP, Taylor VF, Punshon T et al (2012) Arsenic concentration and speciation in infant formulas and first foods. Pure Appl Chem 84(2):215–223

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan SJ, Siskind V, Green AC et al (2010) Breastfeeding and risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. Cancer Causes Control 21:109–116

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan SJ, Na R, Johnatty SE et al (2017) Breastfeeding and endometrial cancer risk: an analysis from the epidemiology of endometrial cancer consortium. Obstet Gynecol 129(6):1059–1067

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Julvez J, Ribas-Fito N, Forns M et al (2007) Attention behaviour and hyperactivity at age 4 and duration of breast-feeding. Acta Paediatr 96:842–847

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kai-Larsen Y, Gudmundsson GH, Agerberth B (2014) A review of the innate immune defence of the human foetus and newborn, with the emphasis on antimicrobial peptides. Acta Paediatr 103:1000–1008

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy KI, Visness CM (1992) Contraceptive efficacy of Lactational Amenorrhoea. Lancet 339(8787):227–230

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Klement E, Cohen RV, Boxman J et al (2004) Breastfeeding and risk of inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic with meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr 80:342–352

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krysko KM, LaHue SC, Anderson A et al (2019) Minimal breast milk transfer of rituximab, a monoclonal antibody used in neurological conditions. Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm 207(1):e637

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luan N-N, Wu Q-J, Gong TT et al (2013) Breastfeeding and ovarian cancer risk: a meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies. Am J Clin Nutr 98(4):1020–1031

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lumeng JC, Taveras EM, Birch L et al (2015) Prevention of obesity in infancy and early childhood: a National Institutes of Health workshop. JAMA Pediatr 169(5):484–490

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moossavi S, Sepehri S, Robertson B (2019) Composition and variation of the human milk microbiota are influenced by maternal and early life factors. Cell Host Microbe 25:324–335

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morton J, Hall JY, Wong RJ et al (2009) Combining hand techniques with electric pumping increases milk production in mothers of preterm babies. J Perinatol 29:757–764

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Newman J (1995) How Breastmilk protects babies. Sci Am:76–79

    Google Scholar 

  • Newman J (2018) Who transfers milk? International Breastfeeding Centre. http://ibconline.ca/who-transfers/. Accessed 19 Mar 2020

  • Ortiz A, Cooper CJ, Alvarez A, Gomez Y, Sarosiek I, McCallum RW (2015) Cardiovascular safety profile and clinical experience with high-dose domperidone therapy for nausea and vomiting. Am J Med Sci 349(5):421–4. https://doi.org/10.1097/MAJ.0000000000000439. PMID: 25828198; PMCID: PMC4418779

  • Pereira PF, RdC A, Araujo RM (2014) Does breastfeeding influence the risk of developing diabetes mellitus in children? A review of current evidence. J Pediatr 90:7–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ram K, Bobby P, Hailpern S et al (2008) Duration of lactation is associated with lower prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in midlife – SWAN, the study of women’s health across the nation. Am J Obstet Gynecol 198:268.e6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reed CB (1908) A study of the conditions that require the removal of the child from the breast. Surg Gynecol Obstet 6:514–527

    Google Scholar 

  • Sipahi H, Eken A, Aydın A et al (2014) Safety assessment of essential and toxic metals in infant formulas. Turk J Pediatr 56:385–391

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sørensen HJ, Mortensen EL, Reinisch JM et al (2005) Breastfeeding and risk of schizophrenia in the Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort. Acta Psychiatr Scand 112:26–29

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sørensen HJ, Mortensen EL, Reinisch JM et al (2006) Early weaning and hospitalization with alcohol-related diagnoses in adult life. Am J Psychiatry 163:704–709

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stuebe A (2015) Does breastfeeding prevent the metabolic syndrome, or does the metabolic syndrome prevent breastfeeding? Semin Perinatol 39(4):290–295

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Targonskaya A (2018) Can you take antibiotics while breastfeeding in. https://flo.health/being-a-mom/your-baby/baby-care-and-feeding/can-you-take-antibiotics-while-breastfeeding. Accessed 1 Apr 2020

  • Temper NK, Phillips SJ, Kapp N et al (2016) Combined hormonal contraceptive use among breastfeeding women: an updated systematic review. Contraception 94(3):262–274

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Todd SR, Dalghren S, Traeger MS (2015) No visible dental staining in children treated with doxycycline for suspected Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. J Pediatr 166(5):1246–1251

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • van Amergongen RH, Moretta AC, Gaeta TJ (2001) Hypernatremic dehydration and death in a breast fed infant. Pediatr Emerg Care 17:175–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Victora CG, Horta BL, Loret de Mola C et al (2015) Association between breastfeeding and intelligence, educational attainment, and income at 30 years of age: a prospective birth cohort study from Brazil. Lancet 3:e199–e205

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang J, Johnson T, Sahin L et al (2017) Evaluation of the safety of drugs and biological products used during lactation: workshop summary. Clin Pharmacol Therapeut 101:736–744

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weissman AM, Levy BT, Hartz AJ et al (2004) Pooled analysis of antidepressant levels in lactating mothers, breast milk and nursing infants. Am J Psychiatry 161:1066–1078

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wiklund PK, Xu L, Wang Q et al (2012) Lactation is associated with greater maternal bone size and bone strength later in life. Osteoporos Int 23(7):1939–1945

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization (2002) Breastfeeding and maternal medication: recommendations for drugs in the eleventh WHO model list of essential drugs from the Department of Child and Adolescent Health and Development, World Health Organization

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization (2011) Exclusive breastfeeding for six months best for babies everywhere. https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2011/breastfeeding_20110115/en/. Accessed 1 Apr 2020

  • World Health Organization (2014) Exclusive breastfeeding to reduce the risk of childhood overweight and obesity – biological, behavioural and contextual rationale. https://www.who.int/elena/titles/. Accessed 23 Mar 2020

  • Xu L, Lochead P, Ko Y et al (2017) Systematic review with meta-analysis: breastfeeding and the risk of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 46:780–789

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Yan J, Liu L, Zhu Y et al (2014) The association between breastfeeding and childhood obesity: a meta-analysis. BMC Public Health 14:126

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Breastfeeding Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Jack Newman & Andrea Polokova

Authors
  1. Jack Newman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Andrea Polokova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. CorDynamics, Dieburg, Germany

    Franz J. Hock

  2. CorDynamics, Chicago, IL, USA

    Michael R. Gralinski

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Newman, J., Polokova, A. (2020). Special Population: Breast Feeding. In: Hock, F.J., Gralinski, M.R. (eds) Drug Discovery and Evaluation: Methods in Clinical Pharmacology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56637-5_64-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56637-5_64-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56637-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56637-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation