Medication Breastfeeding

Medication and breastfeeding can be a dangerous mix. Some people will use that fact to scare you out of breastfeeding, or to tell you that you should stop breastfeeding early. However, in most cases you don't have to choose between your health and the best nutrition for your baby.

If you are dedicated to nursing your child and you find that you need to take some medicines that are not good for your baby, you need to consider your options. It helps to have a doctor who is very supportive breastfeeding. Most doctors today will acknowledge that breast milk is best for babies, but many times it seems that doctors would prefer to take an easy route when it comes to prescribing medicines to mothers rather than making sure that the baby is able to continue nursing. If your doctor tells you that you need to take a medicine that may be dangerous to your nursing child, ask if there are any breastmilk-safe alternatives.

Don't assume that herbal alternatives are going to be better for your baby, either. In some cases they will be safer for both of you, but some herbs present a very high risk to a nursing child. It's important to get competent advice or educate yourself thoroughly about any herbal medicine or supplement that you are considering while your child is still nursing.

In the event that you absolutely have to take a medicine that will stop you from breastfeeding for a while, you may have to take a break but your child doesn't have to lose your milk forever. If at all possible, before you start taking the new medication, pump some milk in advance and freeze it so that you can give it to your baby during the days that you can't nurse in the normal way. You will probably not have enough to feed your child just breastmilk at every feeding in this way, but at least you will get some. Some people mix the limited supply of frozen milk with formula during the period that they can't nurse. Other people choose to give their child one bottle of breastmilk each day and then formula for the rest of the bottles.

While you are on the medication and the baby is not nursing, you should pump milk frequently in order to avoid engorgement and to maintain your milk production. A schedule of once every two hours is not too often even in the case of an older baby, especially since many women find that they pump less volume than their baby is able to get by natural sucking.

Medication and breastfeeding may be safe in some instances, but when your medicines are bad for your baby, you don't have to give up on nursing for good.