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Buscopan (Hyoscine) and Breastfeeding
Buscopan is compatible with breastfeeding
Hyoscine which is most frequent referred to by mothers under the trade name of Buscopan ™. It is used to resolve smooth muscle spasm often in irritable bowel syndrome. It can also help bladder 0cramps and period pain.
The BNF states that the amount in breastmilk is too small to be harmful.
It’s unusual to have any side effects, but some people get a dry mouth, constipation and blurred vision.
See also factsheet on irritable bowel syndrome and breastfeeding https://breastfeeding-and-medication.co.uk/fact-sheet/irritable-bowel-syndrome-ibs-and-breastfeeding
Pharmacokinetics
Plasma protein binding 50%, oral bio-availability 81%, licensed in children.
Further information
Rescue Remedy and Breastfeeding
Many people like to take Rescue Remedy when they are anxious or more frequently, I have found, when taking a driving test or exam. There are no research studies that I am aware of. However, the Rescue Remedy site is quite reassuring.
“The Rescue Remedy® formula contains a carefully selected blend of five flower remedies and is prepared according to natural and traditional methods at the Bach Centre in Oxfordshire. While Rescue Remedy® should be safe to take even while pregnant or breastfeeding you should always talk to your doctor before taking any Rescue® product, especially if you are currently taking any medication.”
https://www.rescueremedy.com/en-us/explore/faqs/can-i-take-rescue-while-pregnant-or-breastfeeding/
Omeprazole and Breastfeeding
Omeprazole is compatible with breastfeeding
Omeprazole (Losec™) is a proton pump inhibitor used to block acid secretion for a variety of reasons including:
- Reflux
- Oesaphagitis
- To protect the stomach against drugs like ibuprofen or prednisolone
The capsules contain gastro-resistant granules, the tablets are also gastro-resistant so that very little of the drug can pass into breastmilk. We also give omeprazole solution to babies with symptoms of reflux. Omeprazole is extremely acid labile with a half-life of 10 minutes at pH values below 4.[ Pilbrant A, Cederberg C. Development of an oral formulation of omeprazole. Scand J Gastroenterol Suppl 1985; 108:113-120.]
Virtually all omeprazole ingested via milk would probably be destroyed in the stomach of the infant prior to absorption.
Relative infant dose 1.1%, Plasma protein bound 95%, oral bioavailability 30-40% (Hale Medications and Mother’s Milk)
Narcolepsy and Breastfeeding
This is a topic on which I confess I had no knowledge. I havent had many queries over the years but most were focussed on asking about modenafil. So a question this week prompted me to do some more research and add it into a factsheet. Hope it helps
wendy@breastfeeding-and-breastfeeding.co.uk
Factsheet narcolepsy and breastfeeding
https://breastfeeding-and-medication.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/narcolepsy.pdf
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and breastfeeding
Irritable bowel disease causes distress to many. This factsheet has been developed from my books and particularly Breastfeeding and Chronic Medical Conditions available from Amazon. I hope it helps.
wendy@breastfeeding-and-medication.co.uk
Factsheet on IBS and Breastfeeding
https://breastfeeding-and-medication.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Irritable-bowel-syndrome.pdf
Quetiapine and breastfeeding
One of the questions that comes up frequently. Often mothers told that they cannot breastfeeding if they need quetiapine for their own menatl health
Hope this information helps them make an infomed decision
wendy@breastfeeding-and-medication.co.uk
Factsheet quetiapine and breastfeeding
https://breastfeeding-and-medication.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/quetiapine.pdf
Asthma and Breastfeeding
As a community pharmacist I often saw patients repeatedly ordering their blue inhalers to relieve symptoms of asthma because they were scared that the brown preventer inhalers contained steroid and would make them look like body builders. This is, of course not going to happen using inhalers correctly. Oral thrush can be common if inhaler technique is poor but simple things like rinsing the mouth after use or using a spacer can help. Talk to your specilialist asthma nurse if you are struggline with symptoms.
If we add in breastfeeding it is no surprise that mothers are concerned about their medication use to control asthma but without cause. Inhalers and steroids are compatible with breastfeeding. Not only that but breastfeeding helps to minimise the risk of your baby developing asthma in the future according to new research.
This weekend symptoms of asthma are predicted to be high because of very high pollen counts coupled with the risk of thunderstorms which can be a bad combination.
I hope this factsheet taken largely from Breastfeeding and Chronic Medical Conditions helps
wendy@breastfeeding-and-medication.co.uk
https://breastfeeding-and-medication.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/asthma-.pdf
Fexofenadine and Breastfeeding
Fexofenadine can be used as an antihistamine during lactation if other antihistamines e.g., cetirizine and loratadine are not effective although studies are limited
Fexofenadine is being asked about frequently this year when symptoms of hayfever seem worse than usual. It can be bought over the counter (but the leaflet will say don’t take if breastfeeding and the pharmacist may suggest that it isn’t compatible with breastfeeding). I hope this information sheet helps you decide what is right for you and your baby.
wendy@breastfeeding-and-medication.co.uk
Factsheet Fexofenadine and Breastfeeding
https://breastfeeding-and-medication.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/fexofenadine.pdf
Acne and breastfeeding
Acne affects 95% around 95% of people between the ages of 11 and 30 years to some extent. It usually disappears in the mid-20s but 3% of people still have symptoms beyond 35 years. It most commonly develops on the face but 50% of sufferers have lesions on their backs and 15% on their chest as well.
This is a chapter from Breastfeeding and Chronic Medical Conditions still available on Amazon as a paperback or download.
For factsheet on acne see https://breastfeeding-and-medication.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/acne-vulgaris.doc.pdf
Monkeypox and breastfeeding
I sincerely hope this information is never needed but as of 6 june 2022 this is the recommendation on pregnancy and breastfeeding when a mother is suspected/proven to have monkeypox. This data is taken from the paper as below
RCOG 6 June 2022 New paper provides best practice for managing monkeypox in pregnancy (and breastfeeding) https://www.rcog.org.uk/news/new-paper-provides-best-practice-for-managing-monkeypox-in-pregnancy/
Highlights pasted from the paper below- basically we dont know about breastfeeding and the passage of monkeypox and need to protect the infant.
‘There is currently no evidence on the risk of viral transmission to the infant during breastfeeding, whether via the breast milk, direct contact with maternal skin lesions or via large droplet spread.
MVA-BN is considered safe in breastfeeding
Neonatal care
There is little evidence to guide neonatal care following the birth of a baby to a woman with monkeypox infection. Apart from macroscopic examination, the baby should undergo viral PCR testing either by throat swab or any lesions that are present. The baby should be isolated at birth from its mother and others, in a single room, with carers wearing appropriate PPE. The baby should be carefully monitored for signs of compromise or monkeypox infection. If the baby tests positive, the mother and baby can be reunited. Ideally, both mother and baby should be tested in parallel thereafter; after the mother is de-isolated (e.g. two negative PCR tests), mother and baby should be reunited. If a mother has reached a threshold to warrant PCR testing for the monkeypox virus, the baby should be isolated pending her swab result.
Breastfeeding
The proposed strategy for neonatal care would preclude most women with active monkeypox infection from breastfeeding their newborn. The WHO advises against breastfeeding; this seems reasonable in high-income country settings, such as the UK, in order to minimize the risk of neonatal monkeypox infection”
Proposed management of suspected or confirmed monkeypox infection in labor or if urgent delivery is needed.
• Advise delivery via Cesarean section
• Assess need for steroids and magnesium sulfate
• Maternity and neonatal staff to wear PPE
• Mother and baby should be isolated separately; avoid NNU admission if possible
• Mother should not breastfeed
• Encourage expressing so mother has opportunity to breastfeed after de-isolation; follow
recommendations for pump cleaning after each use
• Milk should be discarded as infected waste*
• Discuss with virologist testing needed
• If mother is negative, these precautions can be lifted
• If maternal infection confirmed, baby to be isolated for 3 weeks
• If both mother and baby test positive, they can be reunited https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/uog.24968
Monkeypox is usually a mild self-limiting illness, spread by very close contact with someone with monkeypox and most people recover within a few weeks. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/monkeypox-cases-confirmed-in-england-latest-updates
Symptoms
Initial symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. A rash can develop, often beginning on the face, then spreading to other parts of the body including the genitals. The rash changes and goes through different stages – it can look like chickenpox or syphilis, before finally forming a scab which later falls off.
Because the virus spreads through close contact, we are urging everyone to be aware of any unusual rashes or lesions and to contact a sexual health service if they have any symptoms.
“A notable proportion of recent cases in the UK and Europe have been found in gay and bisexual men so we are particularly encouraging these men to be alert to the symptoms” Dr Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser, UKHSA
UKHSA health protection teams are contacting people considered to be high-risk contacts of confirmed cases and are advising those who have been risk assessed and remain well to isolate at home for up to 21 days. In addition, UKHSA has purchased supplies of a safe smallpox vaccine (called Imvanex) and this is being offered to identified close contacts of someone diagnosed with monkeypox to reduce the risk of symptomatic infection and severe illness.
It’s very uncommon to get monkeypox from a person with the infection because it does not spread easily between people. But it can be spread through:
- touching clothing, bedding or towels used by someone with the monkeypox rash
- touching monkeypox skin blisters or scabs
- the coughs or sneezes of a person with the monkeypox rash
For full information from the UK Government and WHO see:
- The epidemiology, symptoms, diagnosis and management of monkeypox virus infections. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/monkeypox (May 2022)
The incubation period is the duration/time between contact with the infected person and the time that the first symptoms appear. The incubation period for monkeypox is between 5 and 21 days.
- World Health Organisation Monkeypox (May 2022) https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/monkeypox
Transmission can occur via the placenta from mother to fetus (which can lead to congenital monkeypox) or during close contact during and after birth.
Vaccination with smallpox vaccine during breastfeeding
MVA-BN is not contraindicated if breast-feeding. It is not known whether MVA-BN is excreted in human milk, but this is unlikely as the vaccine virus does not replicate effectively in humans. Individuals who are breast feeding and have a significant exposure to monkeypox should therefore be offered vaccination, after discussion about the risks of monkeypox to themselves and to the breast-fed child. UKHSA Recommendations for the use of pre and post exposure vaccination during a monkeypox incident May 22 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1077678/Recommendations-for-use-of-pre-and-post-exposure-vaccination-during-a-monkeypox-incident.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2mS-bJgP3LLvvzNUS5aQf4SR3ZIdvg1Fn7XAxHTe7Vpm3KTDt0JPauNbg
Further information on monkeypox infection in pregnancy
- Kisalu NK, Mokili JL. Toward Understanding the Outcomes of Monkeypox Infection in Human Pregnancy. J Infect Dis. 2017;216(7):795-797. doi:10.1093/infdis/jix342 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6279131/?fbclid=IwAR1MVfVw9dQLR5ITTLEod3xhJAsvkdtLFkycDeIdIbBk-zja5CL4rlxNnFw
- Placide K Mbala, John W Huggins, Therese Riu-Rovira, Steve M Ahuka, Prime Mulembakani, Anne W Rimoin, James W Martin, Jean-Jacques T Muyembe, Maternal and Fetal Outcomes Among Pregnant Women With Human Monkeypox Infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo, The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2017: 216 (7): 824–828, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jix260 https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/216/7/824/4348689?fbclid=IwAR1MVfVw9dQLR5ITTLEod3xhJAsvkdtLFkycDeIdIbBk-zja5CL4rlxNnFw&login=false
