Safe Antiobiotics While Breastfeeding
For quite some time now, mothers have been asked to stop breastfeeding the baby the moment they start taking some medicines. The decision to stop breastfeeding your child while you are under some kind of medication is not only wrong but can backfire too. There is a possibility that after discontinuing breastfeeding your baby, your baby may not take the breast again. There is also a chance that your baby may not take bottle as well. For this reason, the decision is completely wrong.
Breastfeeding with a small amount of drugs in your breast milk is safe for your baby. That being said, you need to be a little careful while taking the medicines. ‘Being careful’ doesn’t mean that you stop breastfeeding your baby altogether. Most medicines do get in your breast milk but their concentration is almost negligible.
Only when your doctor asks you to stop breastfeeding your baby completely because of some medicine should stop feeding your baby.
Here are some antibiotics or medicines that are considered safe even when you breastfeed your baby:
• Acetaminophen: This medicine is considered safe but it has a content called as fluoxetine which tends to stay in your body for a long time. The effects of this medicine are safe and do not harm your baby in any way even if it enters your baby’s body through your breast milk.
• Medicines that are applied on the skin or inhaled do not affect your baby in any way.
• Drugs administered for general anesthesia are safe as they get absorbed by the baby’s stomach.
• Immunizations, if any, taken by you are safe and do not require you to stop breastfeeding at any point of time.
• Normal X-rays or scans are also considered safe and do not require you to stop nursing the baby.
The only medicines that can have side-effects and can harm your baby are penicillin, cephalosporins, macrolides, and aminoglycosides. So, make sure you stay away from these.
No matter what, make sure you take medicines only with your doctor’s consent. Avoid over-the-counter medicines as they may affect your child in ways that you haven’t imagined. Self-medication is definitely a no-no, no matter what you are going through at the time.
Before getting into any kind of treatment, make sure you alert the doctor or the concerned medical practitioner that you are breastfeeding your baby and ask if it is okay if you continue nursing the baby even as you take the medication or the treatment.
Submitted by P T on July 13, 2010 at 05:15