Basic principles of medication during lactation

During the lactation period, because you need to feed your child, if a mother needs to take medication, she must master some basic principles of medication. After all, these drugs will be eaten by the baby through breast milk. If there are certain side effects of the drugs, it may have an adverse effect on the baby's health. Therefore, you must seek the doctor's advice before taking any medication. Let's take a look at this aspect.

Basic principles of medication during lactation

It is best to seek medical advice before taking any medication. When taking medication, if local medication can be used, don't use systemic medication; if Chinese medicine can be used, don't use Western medicine; if oral medication can be used, don't get an injection; if old brand medicines can be used, don't use newly developed drugs. You should discuss breastfeeding with your doctor while taking this medication. If certain drugs need to be used in a short period of time and the harm to the child is greater, breastfeeding can be suspended. If you suffer from chronic or serious diseases such as malignant tumors, mental illness, hyperthyroidism, etc., you should stop breastfeeding.

Contraceptive pills contain testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen derivatives. When these substances enter the mother's body, they will inhibit the production of prolactin and reduce milk secretion, resulting in the secretion of breast milk not meeting the baby's needs. In addition, the active ingredients in contraceptive drugs will enter the baby's body through breast milk, causing the breasts of male babies to become larger and the vaginal epithelium of female babies to proliferate. Therefore, breastfeeding mothers should not use contraceptive drugs.

Guidelines for Medication Use During Breastfeeding

Many new mothers always wonder, "Will taking medication during breastfeeding affect the secretion of milk?" Little do they know that in addition to this, mothers should also consider the impact of medication on the baby, which is commonly known as "milk overproduction."

When taking medications during breastfeeding, many mothers tend to only focus on whether the medications affect milk secretion, and rarely consider the effects of the medications on the baby, or simply don't know which medications have effects on the baby. In fact, many drugs can enter the baby's body through the mother's breast milk and have effects on the infant. Although the concentration of some drugs entering breast milk is very low, they can still cause great harm to the tender body of the infant.

At the same time, most drugs taken by breastfeeding women will appear in breast milk to a greater or lesser extent, and the newborn's ability to metabolize and excrete drugs is not yet mature. Newborns eliminate drugs very slowly. For example, when adults take caffeine, half of the caffeine is eliminated in less than 4 hours, but it takes more than 80 hours for newborns to eliminate it.

Because neonates may have particularly poor excretion of certain drugs, such as caffeine, problems may be exacerbated if these drugs are repeatedly given through breast milk. Therefore, breastfeeding mothers should avoid drinking caffeinated beverages, otherwise it will make the baby excited.

Therefore, you must be cautious when taking medications during breastfeeding and pay attention to whether the drugs will be excreted through breast milk and whether they will cause harm to the baby after inhalation.