[celle507]

I am just a student nurse doing my childbearing rotation but I am just wondering if anybody knows the percentage of pain meds (Motrin and Percocet in particular) that are excreted in breastmilk?

Is there any harm to the baby if the mother is taking these medications and breastfeeding? I think it is really important to be liberal with pain medications for postpartum pain management but I was just wondering if there are any possible side effects for the baby.

[z's playa]

I'm not doing a rotation yet but side effects...I would imagine would be one groggy baby!

[Spidey's mom]

Check out Dr. Thomas Hale's book, Medications and Mother's Milk.

Here is his website:

http://neonatal.ttuhsc.edu/lact/

steph

[prmenrs]

Great site!!

[Fiona59]

Our unit used mainly T3s and the excretion rate was not felt to be a factor worth worrying about. Didn't see any groggy babies. Better a comfortable mother than a woman in pain and miserable.

[klone]

Ibuprofen is an L1 Lactation risk drug (safest) and approved by the AAP for use in nursing moms. It has protein binding of >99% (which means that less than 1% is actually available to enter the breastmilk), and an oral absorption of 80%. It's believed that breastmilk levels are less than 1mg/L.

Oxycodone is an L3 Lactation risk (moderately safe). It's believed that the amount excreted in milk is less than 2% that of the maternal dose at highest concentration. It has 50% oral bioavailability.

Hope that helps.

[BETSRN]

Originally Posted by celle507

I am just a student nurse doing my childbearing rotation but I am just wondering if anybody knows the percentage of pain meds (Motrin and Percocet in particular) that are excreted in breastmilk?

Is there any harm to the baby if the mother is taking these medications and breastfeeding? I think it is really important to be liberal with pain medications for postpartum pain management but I was just wondering if there are any possible side effects for the baby.

These meds are both deemed safe. Two books you may want to reference are DRUGS IN PREGNANCY AND LACTATION by Briggs et al, and MEDICATIONS AND MOTHER'S MILK BY Thomas Hale. These two books are considered the gold standard in lactation. Hale is a very good speaker, by the way.

[SmilingBluEyes]

Steph's site is GREAT. Anecdotally, I see NO difference in behavior of babies breastfeeding habits between moms who take narcotics post partum and those who do not. Check out that site; the books recommended there should be STANDARD issue on all post partum floors (we have several of them in our nursery and LDRP unit). Thanks steph, mind If I put it in the "recommended reading area"?

[FrumDoula]

Whatever you do, DON'T turn to the PDR to get breastfeeding info! It's a horrible resource because it's written more to cover the butts of the pharm companies than to assess risk for the mother/baby diad.

Does your hospital have an IBCLC on staff (a lactation consultant)? These ladies (sorry for being sexist) are worth their weight in GOLD. They can not only help the PP mamas, they are wonderful resources for staff members who want to help with breastfeeding but don't have all the knowledge they need. I think they're terrific! Even contacting a local La Leche League leader can be a positive experience.

Of course, YMMV with some IBCLC's, but in general, I can't say enough about them. Very few medications call for weaning, by the way. What a great question!!!

Alison

[Spidey's mom]

Originally Posted by SmilingBluEyes

Steph's site is GREAT. Anecdotally, I see NO difference in behavior of babies breastfeeding habits between moms who take narcotics post partum and those who do not. Check out that site; the books recommended there should be STANDARD issue on all post partum floors (we have several of them in our nursery and LDRP unit). Thanks steph, mind If I put it in the "recommended reading area"?

Nope - great idea.

When we (breastfeeding advocates) approached some of our OB docs with more detailed info they point to the PDR as their bible.

We bought them each Dr. Hale's book.

I have spoken to him - very nice man. And the site is extremely helpful in that you can post questions.

steph