Would you carry on breasfeeding? (medication worry)

[lurcherlover]

I have suddenly developed Bell's Palsy and been prescribed prednisolone and aciclovir, intitially for a week. I'm going back to the GP tomorrow for a follow-up and as I understand it he may want to extend the course of the prednisolone. DS is 6 months and breastfed - he's never had any formula and I didn't want to give him any if possible. But now I'm worried about the medication. The GP tells me that small amounts of the drugs do get into the milk, but as both are prescribed for pregnant women there isn't thought to be a problem with breastfeeding. I'm still worried though, having read stories of steroids stunting babies' growth...so I'm wondering if I should carry on with bf or not. I really want to - and if the conclusion tomorrow is that the medication is only going to be for 7 days, I will - but if it's going to be a longer course, would DS be safer with formula? Or does bf still offer greater benefits even if it has small amounts of medication in it?

if your gp has said the medication is ok for breastfeeding then i would take it. less is going to get into milk than would pass through the placenta, so it's really going to be tiny amounts
bm with medication is still far superior to formula

Yes.

LactMed reports no effects on breasfed infants

HTH

Oh, and I would not always believe the GP. They usually check the BNF which has very little information about lactation and breastfeeding.

If you have any questions check with The Breastfeeding Network's Drug Helpline or online on LactMed

Agree with Mummy. Have always found that the GP seem to know very little about bfing, unless you are extremely fortunate. I've always rung the helpline if concerned.

Hope you recover soon.

Hi, i started prednisolone when I was 8 weeks pregnant with ds3, and stayed on them until he was about 2. He was breastfed, self-weaned at 14 months (which I later found out was due to sudden hypothyroidism (me, not him)). My dose fluctuated quite a bit between a few ?mgs to 80?mgs. Probably would have been on about 40ish when he was about 6mths.

He certainly isn't stunted. He's 3.something now. He's tall and lean. Nor is he muscular or beefy . Just a normal little guy. He was born 5 weeks early which I often wonder was maybe due to the drugs I was on, was on quite a bit more than just prednisolone. Could just as well be due to my condition too though.

Throughout, I questioned the safety of the drugs and was constantly reassured the benefits far outweighed any 'theoretical and not proven risk'. Basically I needed them and had little choice. Further reassured that the benefit of breastfeeding with them in my system was better than not breastfeeding iyswim.

Was also told that the steroid dilutes to about a hundreth of the dose by the time in breastmilk. I did question the validity of this but unfortunately wasn't given any corrobated evidence.

Ultimately the docs said it was safe, and I decided to go on and breastfeed. And it seems to have worked out ok for ds. Good luck in your decision. :)

*corroborated even

If your GP is happy with the risk it is likely to be very low indeed. They tend to err on the side of caution rather than the other way around. The LactMed website is brilliant and should put your mind at rest but I'd also recommend the BfN drup helpine mentioned above. When I used them the service was excellent.

Thanks so much everyone. I read the websites which were reassuring, and I've just spoken to a lovely lady at the BfN drug helpline who told me that the drugs are fine and no risk to DS. So I'm feeling much happier now. Thanks all

Hi, just to reassure you some more, I was on constant pred through both my pregnancies and through bf them both, with no problems at all for them - both strong and happy. Try not to worry and enjoy bf :)