Breastfeeding is the healthiest ways to kick start the life of your little one and is an essential thing to do after child birth. However, you must know which foods to avoid, which drinks to limit and what activities to stop doing while you are breastfeeding. A lot of women worry about taking medicines while breastfeeding, fearing its impact on their breastmilk and thereby on their baby. It is natural to have doubts regarding taking medication while nursing and the following given facts and tips will clear out a few things for you regarding this.
- It is important to know that most of the drugs that are present in your blood will pass onto the breastmilk to atleast some extent. However, the level of medication passed may be low. There are only a few drugs which get concentrated into the breastmilk.
- The concentration of medication in the breastmilk poses more of a risk to premature babies and newborns. Hence the risk of medicine intake by mother is minimum in the case of babies older than 6 months old and most in the case of younger babies or those who have unstable health.
- It is important to remember that the health medications given to you by the health provider are considered okay. Your health provider must know about your medical history and should know that you are nursing. Always ask your health provider about the safety of the medicine during breastfeeding just to be sure.
- Stay away from those medicines which are extra-strength in nature. Whenever possible, avoid taking medications but even if you need to, go for small dosages and for the smallest possible time duration.
- Try to take medicines either straight after breastfeeding or atleast 2-4 hours before your next nursing session. What this tip will do is that it gives time to clear the medication from the body before the baby’s feeding time.
- If after taking a medication, your baby is showing some kind of a reaction, you must contact your health provider immediately and avoid using the medicine again.
- If you are to take a medicine which is long-acting then try to take the medication at a time before your baby’s longest sleeping time. But this must be after feeding the baby. By following this tip, you give yourself the time to clear the medicine from the body while the baby is asleep.
- Always make sure you read the label on the medicine or medication for any useful information that you might find. This will help you to know whether the medicine will affect your breastmilk or not.
It is always advisable to contact your doctor before starting the course of any medicine or even before taking a medicine for a short period of time. Every medicine is different and might have a different reaction on your baby and hence it is better to be safe than sorry as far as taking medications during breastfeeding is concerned.
Photo Credit By: kidspot.com.au
