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Yearly Archives: 2024
Vaccinations in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
as written for Maternity and Midwifery Forum Vaccinations in pregnancy and breastfeeding – Maternity & Midwifery Forum The long-term impact of the use of thalidomide for nausea in the 1960’s continues to be in the minds of many pregnant women and their families. They fear exposing their growing baby to anything from foods to medicines […]
Rheumatoid Arthritis and Breastfeeding
I’m really saddened that so many mothers are recommended to stop breastfeeding in order to be treated with medication. There is some evidence that breastfeeding in itself protects the mother I hope that this factsheet provides some alternatives. The information is taken from Breastfeeding and Chronic Medical Conditions – https://tinyurl.com/mbbebe8x RA and Breastfeeding Factsheet “Recovering […]
Xonvea™ (Doxylamine/pyridoxine) and breastfeeding
Doxylamine/pyridoxine (Xonvea™, Cariban™) This is the only licensed drug treatment for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. It contains a combination of the antihistamine doxylamine and the vitamin pyridoxine. It became available in England in 2018. It has been widely used for pregnancy sickness in the US and Canada and studies have shown no link with […]
Nipple eczema (dermatitis) and breastfeeding
pdf https://breastfeeding-and-medication.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/eczema-dermatitis-and-breastfeeding.pdf We have known for many years that many women give up breastfeeding in the first 6 weeks with unresolved nipple pain and damage. There is currently discussion about the treatment of thrush during breastfeeding and that many cases may be wrongly diagnosed and be caused by dermatitis (eczema). CKS How should I diagnose […]
If a healthcare professional tells you to stop breastfeeding to take a medication….
I’m going to prescribe drug x but I’m afraid it means you need to stop breastfeeding. Does this sound familiar. It seems to come up frequently on social media platforms but is it true? In 2008 I was part of the guideline development group for maternal and infant nutrition PH11 https://www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/PH11. It includes a recommendation […]
Ivabradine and Breastfeeding
Recently there have been several questions on the use of Ivabradine in breastfeeding mothers with Postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS ) and I confess I know little about this condition so am simply compiling the information from other sources. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/postural-tachycardia-syndrome/ “Ivabradine is a hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channel blocker indicated to reduce the risk of hospitalization for […]
Tattoo and Breastfeeding
A tattoo involves injecting an ink into the dermis of the skin. Worldwide 10-20% of the population is tattooed (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34605159/) but there is little research on the effects of the inks. The most common reactions are allergies particularly to red ink and infections (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34969030/). Most of the ink stays fixed in the area to which […]
Cannabis and Breastfeeding
Cannabis use on a regular basis by breastfeeding mothers concerns me. Cannabis has a long half life (25-57 hours) and it takes 5 times this to be removed from milk. THC crosses the blood brain barrier and it is known to accumulate in body fats. Although it is highly protein bound and subject to first […]
Ustekinumab (Stelara ™) and Breastfeeding
Ustekinumab is a disease modifying, biological drug used to treat psoriatic arthritis, plaque psoriasis, Crohns disease, and ulcerative colitis. It is given by sub cutaneous injection. It has a molecular weight 149,000, poor oral bioavailability and milk plasma ratio 0.001 – 0.027 Ustekinumab is a recombinant human monoclonal TNF antibody that binds specifically to TNF- […]
Adalimumab (Humira™) and Breastfeeding
Adalimumab is a disease modifying, biological drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohns disease, ulcerative colitis and Hidradenitis suppurativa. It is given by sub cutaneous injection. It has a molecular weight 148,000. Poor oral bioavailability and relative infant dose 0.12% ( well below 10% regarded as compatible). Adalimumab is a recombinant human monoclonal […]