BF and antidepressants, need some help

[TribbleWithoutaCause]

Hi,

I've been diagnosed with depression and I wondered if there were any antidepressants I could take whilst still breastfeeding. The doc has sent me away to think about what I want to do but he said it might come down to a choice between meds and continuing to feed.

Can anyone help?

There's a thread on this very topic with links to reputable sources, here :

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/breast_and_bottle_feeding/1390789-breast-feeding-on-anti-dipressants

Ignore the argy-bargy in the middle :)

Many, many women continue to feed and use A/Ds - shame your doctor could not give you good info on this.

I have a copy of the BNF so I will pm you later with all the ones you can take .( I work in this area ).

I'm a mental health nurse (currently on maternity leave). When ever we had ladies that needed A/D's and were pregnant/planning on breastfeeding the pychiatrist would always look at prescribing sertraline as this had the best evidence base for being safer to take when breastfeeding. Your GP should be able to access the most upto date research for you or you could try some simple googleing on A/D's in breastfeeding. I have known many women who have succesfuly been treated for depression whilst breast feeding.If you don't think your GP is being supportive see someone else. Good luck.

Hi OP I am about to give birth and am on Prozac 20mg. I have consulted three doctors at the hospital and La Leche League and they are all comfortable with me breast feeding on the drugs. Hope that helps.

get your doctor to look at the bnf. She really should not have sent you away without looking, as anti-depressants are all different and you should have different options. There is not a one size fits all answer or choice when it comes to anti-depressants.

As I have said in another thread you could also contact the drug regulatory agency in the country you are based, speak to a pharmacist who specializes in anti-depressants or a doctor who specializes in depression. Your HV or midwife, might also be able to give you some advice as they will see a lot of women with pnd (assuming that is what you have) who have this problem.

I am not suggesting in anyway you do not take medication, but you might also want to speak to pnd support groups, speak to a counsellor etc to aid your recovery. There will be a lot of women in your situation, and it might help to share your experience.

Sertarline is present in the milk - but is not known to be harmful in short term use .

According to the BNF - Fluoxetine ( Prozac ) is present in milk and the manufacturer advises to avoid it .

According to the BNF your best bet is Sertraline - but I have known mums that have bf on Fluoxetine ( Prozac ).

HTH

Sorry daft iPhone that's supposed to read Sertraline .