Aspirin and BF baby

[Jetbaby]

My DD is 5mo and EBF. I have recently had a (suspected) blood clot in the eye and now have to take 75mg aspirin daily. The pharmacist where I got the aspirin from, NHS direct & the out of hours doctor all told me that I cannot BF while taking aspirin, so I tried to give DD formula after taking my first pill - only for her to bring it all back up an hour or so later.

When I saw my GP the next day, both she and a pharmacist she consulted both said that it was ok to carry on BF.

So my questions are

a) does anyone know if it really is ok to take low dose aspirin and to carry on BF?

and

b) Is any one brand of formula likely to be tolerated by DD better than any other?

Should add that I have checked the Breastfeeding Network which states that as a painkiller aspirin should be avoided (due to risk of Reye's syndrome), but as a blood thinning agent, the amount transferred into breast milk is likely to be very small compared to normal painkilling doses but stops short of saying it is ok to use.

Thanks

a) I would trust the BFN, I think they are saying it's pretty much ok. Reye's Syndrome is v v rare, and the dosages are really really low. According to this page, your baby gets 4-8% of your dosages.

b) Are you keen to continue breastfeeding? It might be worth asking the BFN or similar about plasma levels of aspirin, so you can time breastfeeds to reduce your daughter's exposure to aspirin. (e.g. if you don't feed her at night, then take the pill just before bed, if it's just one pill per day). There is no real unbiased information available about formula, you could try another brand, it could have been a one-off. I'm guessing your daughter generally isn't pukey?

Hmm, this paper implies the half-life of aspirin in the blood is very short - which would mean that if you could avoid feeding for an hour or two after taking the pill (allowing for stomach acids absorption), then you would vastly reduce the chance of your DD getting any aspirin at all. I would talk to the BFN more though - they have a pharmacist dedicated to this stuff, and they should be able to help you find out what timings, if any, would reduce the risk.

If you call the hotline, when they're open, they should be able to help.

Grr, this page says levels peak three hours after you take the pill. And as this page is about breastfeeding, I trust it more. But the specialised pharmacist is the best way forward, I think, if you want to continue breastfeeding.

I definitly want to carry on breastfeeding (and to be honest have done so since pukey incident & no she's not a sicky baby normally).

I had read about peak levels after three hrs, but at the mo she's still feeding every 2 - 4 hrs (even at night). I will try to call BFN again.

Thank you NQC for taking the time to reply.

Well, the amount of drug she'd get, at maximum, is still pretty low. I probably wouldn't sweat it. Are you on the aspirin for the forseeable future?

Yes, on aspirin for life now. I'll be weaning her very soon anyway, so when that's established can easily work timing of pill taking around that.

I think the only risk is of Reye's syndrome (if it is a risk at all on such low doses) which as you say is v v rare anyway & the amount of aspirin transferred into breastmilk is v v small. Will carry on as normal.

Thanks again.

I take low dose asprin every day. I took it all through my pregnancy and the ten months I breastfed.

Thank you MWW - it's reasuring to know that someone else has done the same.